The youthful squad completes a successful summer season

CLACKAMAS — It wasn’t really the way the Longhorns wanted their season to end.

But, despite the ending, the youthful Tigard squad was happy with its summer baseball season.

The Tigard Longhorns saw their season come to a close with a 13-0 loss to Oregon City in an OIBA State Tournament elimination bracket second-round game played last Thursday at Clackamas High School.

“It was a fun season,” Tigard High School senior-to-be Patrick Finn said following last Thursday’s game. “We lost a lot of seniors from the spring, but we really came together. This was a rebuilding season, but we grew as a team. We all like each other and our team chemistry was really good.”

The Longhorns, who lost five of the top hitters from the spring high school season to graduation, finished the summer season with a final overall record of 27-27, along with a berth in the 16-team, double-elimination state tournament.

“It was a good summer,” Tigard coach Tom Campbell said. “We have a chance to have really good pitching and be really good on defense. We’re still a work in progress on offense.”

The Longhorns faced an uphill battle right from the start of last Thursday’s tournament game, as Oregon City scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Oregon City scored four more runs in the bottom of the third inning and them broke the contest open in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring seven runs in the frame to up its lead to 13-0. Jack Powell had the big hit of the inning for the Black Sox with a bases-loaded triple.

Tigard tried to battle back.

In the top of the fifth inning, Bradley Imai and Shane Rasor drew back-to-back walks with one out in the frame, but they were left stranded.

With one out in the top of the sixth inning, Finn belted a one-out double deep to center field.

“I wanted to make good contact,” he said. “I just connected. It felt good.”

In the top of the seventh inning, Piero Silva had a leadoff single for the Longhorns and Bruin Campbell added a two-out single to center field, but the Tigard team wasn’t able to break through and get a run.

Hunter Spriggs, Finn, Silva and Bruin Campbell each had a hit for Tigard in last Thursday’s game.

“The tournament was fun,” Finn said. “But it was more fun yesterday.”

On July 25, Tigard posted a 16-4 win over Hillsboro in a tournament elimination bracket first-round game played at Hare Field in Hillsboro.

In that game, Rasor had two hits, two runs scored and an RBI. Bruin Campbell had three hits to go with two runs scored and a run batted in. Finn and Robby Chabreck each had a hit and two RBI and Jake Biglow had three hits, one run scored and two RBIs.

Biglow also was the winning pitcher, giving up six hits while striking out six and walking one in a complete-game performance.

Now, the Tigard team is looking forward to next spring’s high school season.

“I think we can be really good,” Finn said.