Weiser baseball team beats Baker, falls to Cole Valley

The Weiser High School varsity baseball team, as of March 18, has recorded a 2-1 record so far this season, with wins over New Plymouth (March 6) and Baker City (March 12), and a loss to Cole Valley (March 13).

 The Wolverines came from behind to beat New Plymouth 6-4 in their season opener on March 6 on the Pilgrim’s home field. 

Weiser 9, Baker City 8

 After trailing 8-4 in the sixth inning at home against Baker (2-0), the Wolverines were able to tie the score at 8-8, winning the game in walk-off fashion when Jack Shirts was struck by a pitch, driving in a run, ultimately resulting in a 9-8 victory for Weiser.

 Weiser was first to get on the board in the second inning when Brenett Marshall drew a walk, scoring a run. The Wolverines added a run in the third after a Baker error.

 Baker took the lead in the top of the fourth inning after Will O’Connell hit into a fielder’s choice, Cole Richards singled, and Ethan Fletcher hit into a fielder’s choice, each scoring a run.

 Shirts singled in the bottom of the fourth, tying the game at 3-3. He notched another single in the bottom of the fifth, giving Weiser the 4-3 lead.

 But Baker flipped the game on its head in the top of the sixth, scoring five runs on three hits to retake the lead at 8-4.

 Weiser, however, was able to tie the game 8-8 in the bottom of the seventh and took back the lead, as well as the game, when Shirts was struck by a pitch, resulting in the winning run.

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

Baker 0 0 0 3 0 5 0 8 9 7

Weiser 0 1 1 1 1 1 4 9 8 3

 

Cole Valley 9, Weiser 3

 Errors ultimately led to a 9-3 win for 2A Cole Valley (4-0) in Weiser on March 13. The Chargers were first on the board in the top of the second inning after a sacrifice fly and a single, each resulting in scores. They added another in the third on another sacrifice fly.

 They would not score again until the sixth and seventh innings, bringing in three runs, respectively.

 Weiser did not fold, however, scoring three runs in the seventh, the game ending 9-3 Cole Valley.

 “They had a really strong pitcher,” Wolverine head coach Josh Dolton said. “I think he struck out 10 of our guys in five innings, so that’s two strikeouts an inning, basically.

 “We were [also] playing under the lights; the guy had some good velocity and he had a curve ball that was difficult to pick up because of the fact that we were playing at night; [you] can’t pick up the seams very well.”

 Dolton also attributed the loss to his defense.

 “We had too many errors,” he said. “We gave them some runs; I don’t think there were too many earned runs. Cole Valley had 9 runs and we had seven errors, so we only gave up two earned runs.”

 Cole Valley has a strong team. In the first four games of the 2024 season, the Chargers have notched convincing wins, including an 18-5 drubbing of Clearwater Valley followed by an 11-0 win over Vale. They beat Payette 7-6 on the Pirates home field on March 7 in their season opener.

 Dolton said he was pleased that his team was able to get things going in the sixth and seventh innings against Cole Valley, earning three runs on five hits.

 “We didn’t roll over; we kept at it, so that’s the silver lining,” he said, pointing out that his team has been able to come from behind to notch wins instead of giving up.

 “Our boys have shown some resilience,” he said. “They’ve been able to come back in our first two games and then we showed a little fight with a strong Cole Valley team. We didn’t give up and rallied and broke up a no-hitter.”

 At press time, the Wolverines had a five-game week ahead of them, with contests against Nampa Christian on March 19 and Parma on March 20. They roll right into a three-day tournament in Ontario March 21-23.

 

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

Cole Valley 0 2 1 0 0 3 3 9 5 3

Weiser 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 5 7