Wallowa Valley clinches state berth

Published 7:18 am Wednesday, May 18, 2022

ENTERPRISE — A lockdown performance by Drew Beachy and timely hitting was enough to propel the Wallowa Valley baseball team into the Special District 5 semifinal and lock up a state playoff berth.

Beachy struck out 12 batters and allowed just one hit over 6⅓ innings as the Eagles took down Irrigon at home Tuesday, May 17, 2-0, to set up a rematch against Vale.

Beachy walked three, hit a batter and only allowed a first-inning single to Irrigon’s Spencer Stewart. He struck out at least two batters in four innings, with the two biggest ones coming in the fourth inning as he worked out of a jam. A walk and an error put two on with nobody out before Beachy recorded back-to-back strikeouts to help stall the rally. A walk loaded the bases, but he forced a ground ball to get out of the inning unscathed.

The Knights’ only other serious offensive threat came in the seventh, with a one-out single and a walk by relief pitcher Jaxon Grover opening the door for Irrigon. But Grover came back to strikeout the next two batters to end the game.

Maclane Melville provided all the offense Wallowa Valley needed in the first, with an RBI single scoring Grover — who was hit by a pitch, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch — for a 1-0 lead.

Grover helped add some insurance in the third when he hit a one-out triple and scored on a Spencer Decker sacrifice fly for the final margin. He and Melville both finished with two hits, while the rest of the team went a combined 1-for-16.

Boyd Davis was a tough-luck loser on the hill for Irrigon, allowing two runs on five hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts in six innings.

Wallowa Valley (14-10 overall) faces Vale in Burns May 20, with the winner meeting the Hilanders, the SD5 regular-season champion, later in the day for the district tournament title. The Eagles swept Vale on the road earlier this season, but Vale has won 11 of its last 14, including a season sweep of Burns, which swept Wallowa Valley.