ASTORIA PASSES PLAYOFF TEST
With little competition of late coming from the Cowapa League, the Astoria Fishermen took advantage of a rare sunny Saturday to take on a state championship contender from Washington, knocking off the previously unbeaten Mark Morris Monarchs 4-3 to extend their winning streak to 14 games.
Mark Morris was riding a 17-game win streak heading into Saturday's game at Aiken Field, but a game the night before against crosstown rival R.A. Long, three missing starters and a very ineffective outing from star pitcher Matt Argyropoulos added up to the first loss of the season for the 2A Monarchs.
Argyropoulos, who has already signed a letter of intent to Washington State, was handed a 2-0 lead before he ever threw a pitch, but couldn't hold it as the Fishermen used two first-inning home runs to score all of the runs they would need.
Brent Culver sent the second pitch of the game over the wall in left-center field, Matt Brause hit a laser off the wall in left for a long single, missing a home run by four feet and Jordan Poyer drew a 2-out walk, setting up Adam Koehnke for the key blow of the game. The senior leftfielder, Astoria's RBI leader despite hitting sixth in the order, connected with an Argyropoulos breaking pitch and pulled it well over the fence in straightaway left field, giving Astoria a 4-2 lead.
Argyropoulos, complaining of arm tightness, did not return to the mound in the second inning, spending the rest of the day at first base instead of shortstop, where he earned first team All-State honors for last year's Monarch playoff team. Tony Polis came on in relief, presenting a completely different look on the mound, holding Astoria at bay the rest of the way, as Mark Morris threatened several times, putting the leadoff runner on base in all but two innings.
Polis, a diminutive lefthanded breaking ball pitcher as opposed to the hard-throwing, 6-3 righthanded Argyropoulos, kept Astoria in the yard and off the scoreboard with a little assist from the home plate umpire.
After Polis ripped a double to the wall in the fifth inning and scored on an Argyropoulos ground out to pull the Monarchs within one, Astoria's starting pitcher Jordan Poyer appeared to extend the lead in the bottom of the inning, when he blasted a Polis offering high in the air and way out of the park to left field for an apparent 2-run homer. Initially, left fielder Spencer Roland reacted as if it were a home run, but the heady senior recognized that there had been no signal from the umpire and began pointing into foul territory. The dumbfounded Poyer had already rounded the bases and was halfway home before the foul signal was given. Poyer was eventually retired on a routine fly ball to right and Koehnke struck out to end the inning.
"That ball was at least ten feet fair," said Astoria head coach Dave Gasser. "He hit that thing over the cyclone fence back there. It had to have gone about 400 feet."
Those runs were looking mighty important, as the Monarchs had runners on base all day, including the sixth inning, when Kyle McCrady singled, stole second and advanced to third on a fly ball to right field by Jesse Rice. The previous batter Spencer Roland flew out to fairly deep center field, McCrady went a few steps toward third before retreating as Culver made a strong throw to third base on the fly that would have nailed him for sure.
With All-State pitcher Matt Brause having warmed up in the bullpen during Astoria's previous at bat, Gasser made the change with two outs and the tying run 90 feet away and the Monarchs' leadoff batter due up. Brause, who threw just 50 pitches in a five-inning victory over Banks the previous Wednesday, retired Rusty Beam looking on a 2-2 curveball to end the threat and preserve the lead.
The Monarchs went down in order in their final at bat, with Brandon Strange experiencing a deja vu moment as he froze on a wicked 2-2 curve from Brause on the final pitch of the game.
"That curveball was just sick," said Gasser. "Unhittable."
Poyer overcame a shaky start to post a solid outing against the Monarchs, who came into the contest batting .356 as a team with 14 home runs. The sophomore righthander allowed five hits and just one earned run with four strikeouts and four bases on balls. Poyer minimized what could have been a damaging first inning after the Monarchs loaded the bases with one out on a leadoff walk and a pair of errors. Matt Minium's sacrifice fly to center field scored Beam with the first run of the game. Catcher Jake Carpenter followed with an RBI single to score Polis, who had reached base after a wild throw by Poyer on a sacrifice bunt. Poyer struck out McCrady to end the inning.
The Monarchs were without cleanup hitter Ian Dahl (preparing for state golf tournament), leadoff batter Alex Peters (state choir event) and starting centerfielder Dillon Talley (attending funeral), however head coach Joe Bair wasn't about to use any excuses other than a lack of execution.
"I felt like we were one hit away," said Bair, whose team had already clinched the 2A Greater St. Helens League championship earlier in the week. "We left a lot of runners in scoring position. One hit was the difference in this game."
The Monarchs left seven runners on base, but six in scoring position. Astoria stranded six runners with three left on second or third base.
Poyer repeatedly worked out of trouble after putting the leadoff runners on. In the second inning, he fanned Polis with a runner on third base, then retired three straight batters in the third after a leadoff walk to Argyropolous, who finished a forgettable day 0-for-3 at the plate.
In the fourth inning, Spencer Roland singled with one out, but Jesse Rice grounded into a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play.
In the fifth inning, Poyer helped his own cause with an outstanding defensive play. The Monarchs had runners at second and third with nobody out after a leadoff walk to Beam and Polis' double to the deepest part of the park. The little lefty had to hold at second when Argyropoulos grounded out to shortstop Tom Jawarski, with Beam scoring on the play. After a base on balls to Brandon Strange, Minium hit a ground ball to the left of the mound. Poyer made the play diving to his right, then threw to Dursse just in time to force out Polis at third base for the second out of the inning. Jake Carpenter followed with a harmless ground ball that drew Jawarski to the bag at second for the final out of the inning.
The Fishermen also got some standout defensive play from Culver in center field and Hans Lund at second base, who made a number of tough plays with runners on base.
"He has just developed into a very good all-around ballplayer," said Gasser of the junior second baseman, who won a close training camp battle with fellow junior Jared Rummell for the starting position. Rummell has since become Astoria's starting first baseman when Brause is on the mound. "We have found a great combination on the field with those guys. We are solid all the way around the diamond defensively."
The Fishermen improved their season record to 14-3 heading into their biggest league games of the season, a home and away series against Yamhill-Carlton. The Tigers (5-3 Cowapa League, 7-12 overall) are tied with Scappoose in second place, having split their two games against the Indians and the fourth place Seaside Seagulls (4-4 league). Astoria hosts Yamhill-Carlton on Monday, then travels to Yamhill on Wednesday with a road game at Seaside scheduled for Friday. All games start at 5:00 p.m.
MARK MORRIS 2-0-0-0-1-0-0 3-5-1
ASTORIA 4-0-0-0-0-0-x 4-7-2
W-Poyer (5.2ip, 5h, 3r, er, 4k, 4bb)
L-Argyropolous (ip, 3h, 4er, 2k, bb)
S-Brause (1.1ip, 0h, 0r, 2k)
E-Minium, Poyer, Dursse. LOB-Mark Morris 7, Astoria 6. 2B-Polis. HR-Culver (1), Koehnke (2). SB-McCrady, Johnson. S-Polis, Rice, Lund. SF-Minium. DP-Astoria 1. PB-Carpenter.
Mark Morris was riding a 17-game win streak heading into Saturday's game at Aiken Field, but a game the night before against crosstown rival R.A. Long, three missing starters and a very ineffective outing from star pitcher Matt Argyropoulos added up to the first loss of the season for the 2A Monarchs.
Argyropoulos, who has already signed a letter of intent to Washington State, was handed a 2-0 lead before he ever threw a pitch, but couldn't hold it as the Fishermen used two first-inning home runs to score all of the runs they would need.
Brent Culver sent the second pitch of the game over the wall in left-center field, Matt Brause hit a laser off the wall in left for a long single, missing a home run by four feet and Jordan Poyer drew a 2-out walk, setting up Adam Koehnke for the key blow of the game. The senior leftfielder, Astoria's RBI leader despite hitting sixth in the order, connected with an Argyropoulos breaking pitch and pulled it well over the fence in straightaway left field, giving Astoria a 4-2 lead.
Argyropoulos, complaining of arm tightness, did not return to the mound in the second inning, spending the rest of the day at first base instead of shortstop, where he earned first team All-State honors for last year's Monarch playoff team. Tony Polis came on in relief, presenting a completely different look on the mound, holding Astoria at bay the rest of the way, as Mark Morris threatened several times, putting the leadoff runner on base in all but two innings.
Polis, a diminutive lefthanded breaking ball pitcher as opposed to the hard-throwing, 6-3 righthanded Argyropoulos, kept Astoria in the yard and off the scoreboard with a little assist from the home plate umpire.
After Polis ripped a double to the wall in the fifth inning and scored on an Argyropoulos ground out to pull the Monarchs within one, Astoria's starting pitcher Jordan Poyer appeared to extend the lead in the bottom of the inning, when he blasted a Polis offering high in the air and way out of the park to left field for an apparent 2-run homer. Initially, left fielder Spencer Roland reacted as if it were a home run, but the heady senior recognized that there had been no signal from the umpire and began pointing into foul territory. The dumbfounded Poyer had already rounded the bases and was halfway home before the foul signal was given. Poyer was eventually retired on a routine fly ball to right and Koehnke struck out to end the inning.
"That ball was at least ten feet fair," said Astoria head coach Dave Gasser. "He hit that thing over the cyclone fence back there. It had to have gone about 400 feet."
Those runs were looking mighty important, as the Monarchs had runners on base all day, including the sixth inning, when Kyle McCrady singled, stole second and advanced to third on a fly ball to right field by Jesse Rice. The previous batter Spencer Roland flew out to fairly deep center field, McCrady went a few steps toward third before retreating as Culver made a strong throw to third base on the fly that would have nailed him for sure.
With All-State pitcher Matt Brause having warmed up in the bullpen during Astoria's previous at bat, Gasser made the change with two outs and the tying run 90 feet away and the Monarchs' leadoff batter due up. Brause, who threw just 50 pitches in a five-inning victory over Banks the previous Wednesday, retired Rusty Beam looking on a 2-2 curveball to end the threat and preserve the lead.
The Monarchs went down in order in their final at bat, with Brandon Strange experiencing a deja vu moment as he froze on a wicked 2-2 curve from Brause on the final pitch of the game.
"That curveball was just sick," said Gasser. "Unhittable."
Poyer overcame a shaky start to post a solid outing against the Monarchs, who came into the contest batting .356 as a team with 14 home runs. The sophomore righthander allowed five hits and just one earned run with four strikeouts and four bases on balls. Poyer minimized what could have been a damaging first inning after the Monarchs loaded the bases with one out on a leadoff walk and a pair of errors. Matt Minium's sacrifice fly to center field scored Beam with the first run of the game. Catcher Jake Carpenter followed with an RBI single to score Polis, who had reached base after a wild throw by Poyer on a sacrifice bunt. Poyer struck out McCrady to end the inning.
The Monarchs were without cleanup hitter Ian Dahl (preparing for state golf tournament), leadoff batter Alex Peters (state choir event) and starting centerfielder Dillon Talley (attending funeral), however head coach Joe Bair wasn't about to use any excuses other than a lack of execution.
"I felt like we were one hit away," said Bair, whose team had already clinched the 2A Greater St. Helens League championship earlier in the week. "We left a lot of runners in scoring position. One hit was the difference in this game."
The Monarchs left seven runners on base, but six in scoring position. Astoria stranded six runners with three left on second or third base.
Poyer repeatedly worked out of trouble after putting the leadoff runners on. In the second inning, he fanned Polis with a runner on third base, then retired three straight batters in the third after a leadoff walk to Argyropolous, who finished a forgettable day 0-for-3 at the plate.
In the fourth inning, Spencer Roland singled with one out, but Jesse Rice grounded into a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play.
In the fifth inning, Poyer helped his own cause with an outstanding defensive play. The Monarchs had runners at second and third with nobody out after a leadoff walk to Beam and Polis' double to the deepest part of the park. The little lefty had to hold at second when Argyropoulos grounded out to shortstop Tom Jawarski, with Beam scoring on the play. After a base on balls to Brandon Strange, Minium hit a ground ball to the left of the mound. Poyer made the play diving to his right, then threw to Dursse just in time to force out Polis at third base for the second out of the inning. Jake Carpenter followed with a harmless ground ball that drew Jawarski to the bag at second for the final out of the inning.
The Fishermen also got some standout defensive play from Culver in center field and Hans Lund at second base, who made a number of tough plays with runners on base.
"He has just developed into a very good all-around ballplayer," said Gasser of the junior second baseman, who won a close training camp battle with fellow junior Jared Rummell for the starting position. Rummell has since become Astoria's starting first baseman when Brause is on the mound. "We have found a great combination on the field with those guys. We are solid all the way around the diamond defensively."
The Fishermen improved their season record to 14-3 heading into their biggest league games of the season, a home and away series against Yamhill-Carlton. The Tigers (5-3 Cowapa League, 7-12 overall) are tied with Scappoose in second place, having split their two games against the Indians and the fourth place Seaside Seagulls (4-4 league). Astoria hosts Yamhill-Carlton on Monday, then travels to Yamhill on Wednesday with a road game at Seaside scheduled for Friday. All games start at 5:00 p.m.
MARK MORRIS 2-0-0-0-1-0-0 3-5-1
ASTORIA 4-0-0-0-0-0-x 4-7-2
W-Poyer (5.2ip, 5h, 3r, er, 4k, 4bb)
L-Argyropolous (ip, 3h, 4er, 2k, bb)
S-Brause (1.1ip, 0h, 0r, 2k)
E-Minium, Poyer, Dursse. LOB-Mark Morris 7, Astoria 6. 2B-Polis. HR-Culver (1), Koehnke (2). SB-McCrady, Johnson. S-Polis, Rice, Lund. SF-Minium. DP-Astoria 1. PB-Carpenter.
posted by Matt Richert at 10:55 PM
3 Comments:
Oregon prep has Astoria playing at YC today and home on Wednesday.
That is from an incorrect schedule, unfortunately I reported the same info during Saturday's broadcast. Was told by Coach Gasser on Saturday that Monday's game is home and Wednesday is at Yamhill.
Well, now I'm really confused. Nobody is at the field at 4:20 p.m. Looks like the game is in Y-C after all. Sorry for the confusion. Good thing we weren't broadcasting today!
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