Free Press / Andrew Ottoson
Austin Blackmer gets a hand in safely at third base against Marsing Thursday, May 19, at Nampa.
Andrew Ottoson - sports/outdoors reporter
May 24, 2011
NAMPA -- Grangeville bobbled an opportunity to bring back the third place trophy Saturday, May 21, at Rodeo Park. The Bulldogs dug themselves into a deep hole, 5-1, in the second inning against Glenns Ferry. While they've been good at digging themselves out, spotty fielding ultimately cost them an 8-6 loss on the last day of the season.
The day prior, the fielding was better on quantity, but just as bad on quality. Senior southpaw Tate Stowers limited Malad to five hits and one walk in seven innings, but found himself behind 7-1 on five unearned runs, four of which accrued in the top half of the final frame.
As it has in such situations throughout the year, Grangeville battled back, closing within 7-5 before senior reliever Tyrell Hubbard slammed the door.
If he saw the early game Thursday, Hubbard may well have been motivated by sheer terror.
Grangeville overcame some embarassment and thoroughly embarassed Marsing in the seventh inning of the first game of the state tournament. Having frittered away a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth, the Bulldogs allowed six runs to score with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Bernie Galvez did most of the damage with a 2-run blooper into short right field, but the Huskies added three more runs on a misplayed line drive in the outfield and a dropped can-of-corn popup on the infield.
But Grangeville hit back in the top of the seventh, working four 3-2 counts, drawing five walks, inducing two huge errors and eventually scoring the go-ahead runs on Ben Seloske's blooper over short. In all, the Bulldogs sent 14 batters to the plate during an inning in which they notched just one base hit.
Naturally, Marsing took advantage of a single and a 1-out walk to load the bases for a sacrifice fly by Galvez, cutting Grangeville's lead to 12-11. A single by James Able tied it, but Isaih Hartman's relay from shortstop cut down the would-be winning run at the plate.
The Bulldogs played more small ball in the eighth, with Jasper Sabatino and Logan Peterson reaching base ahead of Tyler Flowers, who advanced both runners on a fielder's choice groundout, and Stowers. Stowers lit into a pitch early in the count and floated it far enough to bring Sabatino in easily on the sacrifice fly.
Flowers, who started the game and gave way for Hartman in the sixth returned to work 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth.
