Baseball team goes back-to-back

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Joseph Murphy

National anthem. Head Coach Joe Monahan participates in the national anthem ahead of the 6A Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) State Championship on June 3.

The baseball team was going into the last inning up 2—0. Up to that point, Drake Gabel, senior, had allowed zero runs against the number two ranked Jesuit Crusaders. Though West Linn was ranked number one in the state, Jesuit was ranked 22 in the country as of May 31. After two outs and two runners on base, Gabel gave up a pop fly, which was caught by third baseman Jackson Curdy, senior.

A dogpile ensued and the rest was history. It was their second straight state championship.

This matchup was played against Jesuit’s pitcher, Noble Meyer, senior, the 11th ranked professional prospect in the country. Meyer, who’s fastball consisted of at least 90 mile per hour (mph) speeds, allowed two hits and delivered 14 strikeouts.

Both of these hits came in the first inning. With one out, Danny Wideman, sophomore, hit a double into right field. 

“[I was] just trying to be on time, I saw a pitch I liked, I tried to put a good swing on it,” Wideman said. “Ended up getting a double down the line. That kind of got us going, got the crowd going. I’m just really happy, really proud of myself.”

Jake Holmes, senior, batted Wideman in one out later with a single. It was his final hit in a Lion uniform. 

“Danny came up so clutched in the first inning with that double,” Holmes said. “Having that confidence in your head helps so much, because when you believe you are the best, nobody can take you down. [Meyer is] the best right handed pitcher in the country. Danny’s and mine in the first inning were the only two hits he gave up. He’s resilient. We just got lucky with the first punch.”

Gabel continued to hold Jesuit scoreless throughout the game. Though Jesuit managed to deliver six hits, none of those hits amounted to runs. Gabel was awarded the player of the game at the game’s conclusion

“When they get some hits or get guys on base it changes momentum, but we know we trust in every one of our guys and I know when I’m pitching they’re gonna trust me to dominate the zone,” Gabel said. “It’s just plays like that change [the] momentum and the whole team was just boosted, the whole team had full morale.”

Despite having an equal ratio of hits to runs, the baseball team was able to make due. In the fifth inning, Jesuit gave up three errors, all of which helped the baseball team get a run without getting a hit. On the other hand, West Linn had no errors.

“We just all play so well together,” Holmes said. “We know everyone has each other’s backs. If you do make a mistake, it’s just head up and make the next play because all 20 of the other dudes on the team got your back. So [knowing] that relieves so much pressure off yourself and it’s just so much easier to play baseball.”

This game was the second matchup against Jesuit this year. On March 17, the baseball team lost to Jesuit 6—9, almost three months beforehand.

“[We were] still trying to figure out our identity a little bit,” Gabel said. “After that spring break trip we took, where we lost three times, I think that really flipped the switch for us. We came back and we started playing as a team more and every guy knew what they had to do. We just had so much trust in each other. We’ve played together since [we were nine] and to win it with these guys is so special.”