Things look rough for pitcher, but offense comes through

CLACKAMAS — Aaron Ahlstrom was in trouble early and often, as Reynolds roughed up Clackamas' starting pitcher, leading to an abrupt, third inning exit.

Ahlstrom tagged out and Taylor Stinson tagged in, tasked with thwarting the potent Raider bats. The Outlaws' towering right-hander delivered, preventing a Reynolds runaway. With the Raiders at bay, Clackamas rallied.

Home runs from Austin Kelly, and yes, Stinson, kept the Outlaws close. Then finally, a two-run sixth inning gave them their first lead and eventually a 6-5 win over Reynolds in the first round of the Oregon Independent Baseball Association tournament Tuesday at Clackamas High School.

“That's not a situation where we probably do that very often,” Outlaws coach John Arntson said of his decision to pull Ahlstrom. “Aaron, who we started, we just felt like he didn't have his best stuff tonight.

“He helped us offensively and defensively. He did a great job for us.”

Defensively, his best effort came in the sixth inning.

Reynolds had scored two runs in the previous inning and had a chance to strike again with the top of their order leading off.

Stinson, however, abruptly retired the Raiders in order.

“That hurt our momentum a little bit,” Reynolds coach Kyle Swoboda said.

In the bottom half of the inning, Clackamas took advantage by climbing ahead.

Cole Scruggs led off with a double. Back-to-back Raider errors allowed the Outlaws to plate two runs and take the lead.

In the seventh, Reynolds had an opportunity to tie the game. A runner advanced to third but never scored.

“We didn't make the plays when we were supposed to,” Swoboda said. “They put us in some tough situations. All we had to do was make to routine plays and get the outs, and unfortunately we couldn't do that.

“It hurts, but we played hard. Obviously, we want to be on the other end, but the kids wanted to fight.”

Taking advantage

Among those was Reynolds starting pitcher Joe Palmisano, who was asked to go the distance because of a lack of pitching.

Palmisano battled and did what was asked.

“We're thin right now,” Swoboda said. “Basically, we went in with him going seven no matter what, and he said all right.”

Offensively for Reynolds, Zach Goode gave his team a 3-0 lead in the third with a two-RBI single. Nic Iverson had a big day at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a double and a RBI.

“Nic hasn't had the opportunities he's wanted this summer,” Swoboda said. “But with guys missing and guys out of the lineup, he took advantage of his opportunities tonight.”

On the other end, Stinson allowed two runs in five innings of work.

“I just knew that I could come in and throw strikes,” he said. “If I just threw strikes, I knew my defense would make plays. When they're making plays, we're a pretty good ball club that can do a lot of damage.”