For the first three innings of a key Montesano-Elma battle for first place in the 1A Evergreen League, the two teams were locked in a close, low-scoring game.
One swing of Bode Poler’s bat changed all that.
The Bulldogs junior shortstop belted a grand slam in the fourth inning to propel Montesano to an 11-5 win on Monday at Eagle Field in Elma.
“I was looking for a fastball and I saw it middle-in and knew I could hit that pitch,” Poler said of his game-changing blast. “I hit it pretty well and a once I was halfway down to first, I was pretty sure it was gone. I was so happy. It was a close game and I just wanted to get the runs in for the team. This was a big league game and we really needed this one.”
Poler’s blast came with one out and Monte (14-1 overall, 8-0 1A Evergreen) leading by a run in the top of the fourth.
With Jaxson Wilson on third and Christian Olsen on second after a one-out double, Bulldogs catcher Denali Harris laid down a squeeze bunt to score Wilson with the go-ahead run.
Daylon Schroeder followed with a walk to load the bases, setting up Poler, who drove Brody Palmer’s 1-1 pitch over the right-center field fence for a 6-1 lead.
“Bode is just a special player,” Montesano head coach Mike Osgood said. “That huge grand slam gave us some confidence and some momentum.”
Monte wasn’t done scoring in the frame. With two outs and the bases empty, Josh Wills singled and John Kling was hit by a pitch by Elma reliever Grant Vessey. Cam Taylor then stepped to the plate and singled to drive in both Wills and Kling for a commanding 8-1 lead.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Cam Taylor connects with a pitch during the Bulldogs’ 11-5 win over Elma on Monday in Elma.
“He’s a guy that the last few weeks has been getting more at-bats and has just been huge for us,” Osgood said. “That was kind of the exclamation point on the end of that inning.”
“It’s hard to come back from that,” Elma head coach Travis Vessey said. “Our guys did battle and were still swinging it and trying to stay in it.”
Elma (8-3, 4-1) responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame on a Carter Studer single to score Blake Corr followed by a bases-loaded walk to Jack Alexander, chasing Monte starter Jackson Busz from the bump.
The Eagles would get even closer in the sixth when Cameron Green walked off Monte reliever Skylar Bove and came in to score when Ethan Camus tripled down the right-field line, cutting the deficit to 8-4.
But Monte responded with three runs in the top of the seventh, bolstered by four walks in the frame and taking an 11-5 lead on an RBI fielder’s choice ground out off the bat of Kaleb Ames.
Poler (2-4, GS, R, 5 RBI), Wills (2-5, R), Taylor (2-4, R, 2 RBI) and Olsen (2-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI) each had two hits for Monte, which collected 10 hits as a team.
Elma was led by Studer, who was the only Eagle with a multi-hit game, going 3-for-3 with a double, run and two RBI.
Busz picked up the win, allowing three earned runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 3 2-3 innings pitched.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano starting pitcher Jackson Busz pitched 3 2-3 innings to earn the victory in the Bulldogs’ 11-5 win over Elma on Monday at Eagle Field in Elma.
Bove closed out the game for Monte, allowing two earned runs on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 3 1-3 innings of relief.
Elma used five pitchers in the game as Coach Vessey carefully watched his team’s pitch counts with a busy week ahead for the Eagles, including two games against the Bulldogs later this week.
“We’re just trying to keep pitchers alive for the rest of the week,” said Coach Vessey, whose team is scheduled to play four games over the next four days. “It’s a big week. Once (Poler’s grand slam) happened, we’re keeping kids’ arms well and being able to use them the rest of the week.”
With the win, Monte remains unbeaten in the 1A Evergreen League and handed Elma its first league loss of the season.
It was also the 100th win for Osgood as head coach in his seventh season at the helm of the Bulldogs program.
“To get Coach Osgood his 100th win, we really wanted this one for him,” Poler said. “It’s good to have. … It was something we knew we wanted.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Mike Osgood, left, talks to his team after collecting his 100th win as a head coach with an 11-5 win over Elma.
“It’s awesome,” said Osgood, who played on the very same field where he recorded his 100th coaching victory. “This is where I played my high school ball, so it was real special to play Elma. … One-hundred is awesome, but I just love these guys and they are just playing baseball, having some fun and doing some good things right now.”
Elma takes on Tenino in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in Tenino.
Monte’s next game will be against the Eagles at 4 p.m. on Thursday in Elma.
The two teams will square off in Monte at 4 p.m. on Friday.
Montesano 010 700 3 – 11 10 1
Elma 001 202 0 – 5 8 2
WP: Busz (3.2 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 K). LP: Palmer (3.1 IP, 6 R, 5 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K).
Leading hitters: Montesano – Poler (2-4, GS, R, 5 RBI); Wills (2-5, R); Taylor (2-4, R, 2 RBI); Olsen (2-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI); Kling (1-3, 2B); Wilson (1-2, 2 R); Harris (0-2, 2 R, RBI, BB). Elma – Studer (3-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI); Camus (1-3, 3B, R, RBI); Vessey (1-4); Wright (1-4); Sanders (1-2, R); Alexander (0-1, 2 RBI, BB).
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma left fielder Eastin Wright (18) is met by center fielder TJ Dunlap after making a diving catch during an 11-5 loss to Montesano on Monday in Elma.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano pinch runner Zach Timmons slides in safely ahead of the tag of Elma catcher Ethan Camus during the Bulldogs’ 11-5 victory on Monday in Elma.
