These Battle Floor Tigers know a factor or two a couple of comeback.
9 days in the past, Battle Floor dropped to final place within the 4A Better St. Helens League baseball standings after shedding two of three in opposition to Camas and dropping its collection opener to Skyview. One win, three losses and a tricky hill to climb in an uber-competitive league.
The Tigers put their heads down and went again to work.
“We’re fighters, for sure,” Battle Floor junior James Gill III stated. “We’re not going to let one thing knock us down.”
Battle Floor rallied to take the subsequent two video games in final week’s collection in opposition to Skyview. And now, with Thursday’s 5-1 win in opposition to Union in every workforce’s 4A GSHL finale, the Tigers clinched a collection win and the league’s No. 2 seed heading into subsequent week’s 4A bi-district playoffs.
“They’ve showed a lot of resilience,” Battle Floor coach Seth Johnson.
After splitting the primary two video games of the collection, Union entered Thursday figuring out a win would assure at the least a share of the 4A GSHL title, pending the end result of Camas and Skyview’s recreation, which the Papermakers later gained 8-1 to wrap up the title.
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As a substitute, Battle Floor seized management quick and didn’t let go. Cooper McGowan and Collin McGowan led off the highest of the primary inning with back-to-back base hits, and each scored on a Gill double. Jacob Lengthy added an RBI single to offer the Tigers a commanding 3-0 lead via one-half inning.
“Against a really good arm too (Union starting pitcher Jacob Chandler), we competed well against him (and) kind of just got things going from the very beginning,” stated Cooper McGowan, a sophomore. “I just kind of set things up for the power of the order — James, Collin, Jake and Jayden (Sivits) — just kind of let them do their thing.”
The Tigers’ protection, too, held strong with an error-free recreation to assist Gill, who struck out 5 with two walks and 4 hits in a complete-game exhibiting, holding Union scoreless till Drew Hertenstein’s bases-loaded RBI single within the seventh.
Gill and the Tigers acquired a jolt within the third inning when the left-handed pitcher was in a position to knock down a comebacker along with his glove and throw to first base for an out. Johnson barely made it out of the dugout to test on his ace pitcher earlier than Gill flashed a thumbs up signal indicating he was good to go.
“I was excited,” Gill stated. “I didn’t even mean to … I wish I caught it, but I got the out.”
The Tigers closed the inning with a double play, together with a tag on the plate by catcher Collin McGowan to maintain Union off the board.
Cooper McGowan went 3-for-4 with a double to guide the Tigers, scoring once more after Union was referred to as for a balk within the fifth, earlier than including a two-out RBI base hit within the sixth.
“I feel really good,” Cooper McGowan stated. “We’re really starting to play all together the last two series. I think we’re in a really good spot.”
Battle Floor is in a well-recognized state of affairs with the league’s No. 2 seed for bi-districts, like final yr when the Tigers superior to the 4A state match for the primary time since 2017. The Tigers are wanting to compete in these playoff atmospheres.
“We’re playing our best baseball right now,” Johnson stated, “and that’s all you can ask for.”
Johnson additionally tipped his cap to Union, which took two of three from Camas and defeated Battle Floor in Monday’s collection opener. Behind the 1-2 punch on the mound of Rylan Howe and Jacob Chandler, the Titans are well-positioned to make noise because the 4A GSHL’s No. 3 seed within the bi-district playoffs.
“They’ve got two very good arms, so they’re going to challenge in that bi-district,” Johnson stated. “They’ve got a legit shot to make the state tournament with those two good arms.”
