Playing themselves into the post-season on an 11 game win streak and earning a first round bye, Bruins head coach Keith Wallin and the Bruin boys varsity baseball team, hosted the 10-8 Douglas Trojans to start their 2023 post-season journey.
Wallin sent his ace, #13, junior Austin Dietrich to the mound to frustrate Trojan batters and hopefully establish early control of the game. Dietrich retired the side allowing only four batters to the plate.
In their half of the first, Bruin batters set the pace early, getting seven batters to the plate, loading the bases and then getting two of those baserunners across the plate forcing a walk with bases loaded and getting a sacrifice fly from senior, #12, Kallen Christensen.
Dietrich continued where he left off in the top of second, however, the Trojans did manage a baserunners that would not pose a threat as Dietrich again retired the side seeing only four batters.
The Bruin offense would struggle with the Trojan right-hander in the second, getting five batters to the plate, however, failing get runs across the plate. Bruin bats would get five batters to the plate in both the third and into the fourth inning, but the Bruins would capitalize in the bottom of the fourth off of a Kyle Burger double, scoring another run for the Bruins.
In the fifth inning, the Trojans would come out swinging, threatening with runners on the corners and no outs. Douglas hit a fly ball to left field, however, Bruin left-fielder, senior Kallen Christensen, #12, would record the out and then gun down the runner at the plate to complete the double play. Dietrich would then get the final batter to end the Trojan threat and hold on to the 3-0 lead.
Running out of outs, Douglas worked two runners onto the basepaths, again threatening with runners on first and second in the sixth. But the Bruin defense would be too much behind Dietrich, who strengthened in the late innings, recording five strike-outs in the sixth and seventh innings, to record the Bruin 3-0 win and send them on to the next round.
The #4 Bruins win, combined with a #12 Pleasant Hill upset on the road, secured another play-off homegame for the Bruins, this Friday afternoon, at Brookings-Harbor High School, with a first pitch time yet to be determined.
