Polk County Itemizer-Observer

Dallas baseball team all alone in first place in Mid-Willamette Conference

DALLAS -- The Crescent Valley baseball team must have been getting pretty tired of seeing Dallas' No. 9 hitter reach base in last week's three-game series.

Nicole Watkins

April 18, 2012

IF YOU GO...

WOODBURN AT DALLAS

When: 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Special event: The Dallas baseball team is hosting a "fundraiser dinner" for $10 at the concession stand during the game. Meal includes hamburger, chips, drink and dessert. WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Dallas topped Woodburn, 13-0 in the series opener Tuesday.

DALLAS -- The Crescent Valley baseball team must have been getting pretty tired of seeing Dallas' No. 9 hitter reach base in last week's three-game series.

Matt Goodlett only did it 12 times -- out of 12 at bats.

"I think I drew three walks, so that helped," the senior said with a laugh.

Goodlett actually had five walks to go along with seven hits and was another reason why -- in what has become a loaded Dallas lineup -- the Dragons claimed a 2 games to 1 series win over the Raiders.

Dallas (11-3, 8-1 MWC), which defeated Wilson 3-2 in a nonleague matchup Monday, currently sits all alone in first place in the Mid-Willamette Conference standings.

That's right where the Dragons, ranked No. 9 in the latest Oregon School Activities Association power rankings, expected to be.

"Honestly, yeah, because we already had a good thing going this summer when we finished eighth in the state," Goodlett said.

"We're just trying to carry over that momentum and play with confidence."

So far, it's working -- and it's nearly impossible for teams to figure out who to stop.

Monday, Dallas trailed by one run heading into the bottom of the eighth inning until Josh Spencer knotted things up with a solo home run.

   After Bret Moskal singled and stole second base, Scott Schepige (3 for 4 against Wilson) played the hero with the game-winning RBI single.

The Dragons dropped Friday's series finale with Crescent Valley, 5-0, but pulled off some magic in a 9-8 win Thursday.

Trailing by four runs entering the bottom of the seventh, it took a combination of players to pull off the comeback.

Tyler Sommerfeldt doubled, Goodlett walked, Spencer punched in a two-RBI double and Jarret Peterson came up with the game-winning single.

"The kids talked about how it was something to draw upon in games to know that even when you're behind, there's no time limit," Dallas coach Scot McDonald said. "You can just keep playing till the last out -- just battling and doing what you can do -- finding ways to get on."

Goodlett, still referring to the disappointment of dropping Friday's game, said his team can still be better.

"Realistically, you have to give some of that due to luck," he said of the four-run comeback Thursday. "We're not always going to get opportunities like that, but we need to capitalize on opportunities when we do have them. After that loss (Friday), we just talked a lot among ourselves and realized that one loss isn't a big deal right now and we just have to get back on the path where we were, which is just to go out and play our best baseball."

Pitching continues to be strong too, as Josh Havig pitched seven innings Monday, striking out 10 and giving up five hits. The senior recently signed to play at Chemeketa Community College.

The Dragons play a three-game series with MWC last-place Woodburn this week. Dallas was scheduled to play at Woodburn Tuesday after press time, hosts the Bulldogs Wednesday and then finishes the series on the road Friday.

Second-place Corvallis (7-2 through Monday) comes to town April 24 to kickstart a key three-game series in what will be a telling week.

"There's another team I've gone 1-14 against in my career," joked McDonald.