The Dalles rallies in seventh inning to edge Union County, 8-7, in state tourney opener

Published 9:19 pm Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Union County and The Dalles treated the fans to the game of the day in

the night capper of Day 1 of the 13-15 state Babe Ruth tournament.

The Dalles used a walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh to break open a tie ball game and walk away with the win, 8-7.

“It was a good game, I thought our kids did a great job out there,” Union County coach Mark Lanman said.

It looked like it was going to be all about The Dalles early on. The visitors scored four first-inning runs off of Josh Gambill, the first coming on an RBI single by Clay Copper, followed by a wild pitch by Gambill to put the score at 2-0.

Then a 2-run double by Zach Keimig gave The Dalles a 4-0 lead. “The Dalles got after it and hit the ball well. But Josh settled down after that,” Lanman said.

Union County finally got on the board in the third inning on an RBI single by Ty Coon that scored Cole Laci.

Then Gambill drilled a ball to center field that was misplayed by the fielder, scoring another run and, just like that, Union County trailed by two. But not for long.

Jake Chamberlain’s 2-run single moments later tied the game, and Trenton Powers’ 2-run single gave Union County the lead at 6-4.

“I thought we battled. To come back and tie the game, then take the lead – I’m proud of what we did out there,” Lanman said.

The Dalles hung around, though, and in the fourth inning tied it up on an RBI double by Zack Cantrell, then took the lead on a 2-run triple by Nolan McCall.

But as back-and-forth as this game proved to be, Union County quickly countered to tie the game in the fifth inning, as the umpire called a balk on The Dalles with the bases loaded and it was knotted up again.

Neither team did anything in the sixth inning and Union County was unable to get anything going in the top of the seventh, leaving the door open for The Dalles to end things in the bottom of the inning.

And they did exactly that.

Dakota Walker reached base with one out when shortstop Tyson Wicklander one-hopped a throw to first base that Chamberlain couldn’t handle. Walker advanced to second as the ball got away from Chamberlain.

Walker then made his way to third base on a groundout, and The Dalles had the winning run just 90-feet away with two outs.

That’s when Korey Jones ended things with a stinging line-drive to the left-center field gap, sending The Dalles’ fans into a frenzy and sending Union County fans home with a sour taste in their mouth.

“We had that throwing error there that allowed them to get on, but that’s baseball, you know. I hope we can meet them again down the line, because I am really proud with what our kids did,” Lanman said.

Union County finished with seven hits and two errors, while The Dalles recorded nine hits and two errors.

Union County will face Southeast Portland at 4 today, and The Dalles will take on Tigard at 1 at Optimist Field.