No. 2 Challengers rally from 3-0 deficit to pull even in seventh before No. 1 Blanchet Catholic supplies two-out answer

A walk-off wild pitch may be one of the toughest ways to lose a game — much less a Class 3A state championship contest — but Cascade Christian baseball coach Kevin Shafer made sure to remind his players to hold their heads high after Saturday’s tough 4-3 loss to Blanchet Catholic.

The Warriors saw pinch-runner Josh Grossman scoot home with the winning run when the first pitch by recently inserted reliever C.J. Bonner was off the mark and got past catcher Grady Sickler in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“It’s unfortunate how it ended,” said Shafer, “but it’s just a game, right? It’s a game that will humble you. We did a great job of battling and getting ourselves back into it, and it just didn’t go our way at the end.”

To that point, however, the Challengers most certainly had shown an ability to rise to the occasion.

In one day, Cascade Christian had erased a 3-0 deficit to equalize things with the Cavaliers in the seventh inning.

In one week, the Challengers showed tremendous resolve to pull out consecutive one-run wins to even be in the position they were at Champion Car Wash Stadium in Roseburg.

And in one season, the Medford-area boys had taken a freshman- and sophomore-dominant squad with only three seniors and evolved into one of the top 3A teams in the state.

“It’s been a great year, you have to remind everyone of that,” said Shafer. “You always want to end in a dogpile, but only five teams get to do that from 6A down to 3A and 2A/1A. Unfortunately, it wasn’t us, and we’ll go to the drawing board and we’ll continue to be who we are and do what we do and go from there.”

‘The thing we talked about with our guys is that just because somebody hands you a trophy doesn’t mean you’re a champion,” he added. “We pride ourselves on it being a mindset. Being who we are, this group is truly a group of champions. What they do on the field, what they do off the field, how they carry themselves, that’s really what champions do. And I told them, if you think you’re only a champion if somebody hands you a blue trophy, then you’re not going to be a champion without it.”

Cascade Christian (24-7) continued their role as comeback kings in the 3A state playoffs, falling behind 3-0 in the third inning to top-seeded Blanchet Catholic (29-2). The Challengers have trailed in every round but the semifinals during their playoff run.

“It was funny when it went 3-0,” said Shafer. “In the dugout after we got out of the inning, I was like, ‘Hey, we got them right where we want them. We’ve been here. We know what this is. We know what this is like.’ I thought the kids did a good job of just competing and putting together some good at-bats after that.”

Two of the three runs in that inning were unearned due to two Cascade errors, offering a blemish to an otherwise strong start from freshman Blake Patereau, who allowed seven hits with five strikeouts and no walks in 5 ⅓ innings.

“Blake on the mound was light’s out,” said Shafer. “We didn’t help him out a little bit defensively, which is not usually what happens. But I think that you get those types of games and there’s some jitters and there’s some things that come into play when it comes to a championship game.”

“I thought we were ready to play,” he added, “but I thought the nerves got the best of us a little bit, and I thought the nerves got the best of Blanchet Catholic a little bit early, too.”

The Cavaliers had a dropped fly ball, a throwing error and a hit batter to load the bases with no outs in the second inning, only to have senior pitcher Carson McNally post two strikeouts and an inning-ending flyout to escape the threat.

The Challengers loaded the bases again in the fourth inning on singles by Carson Willard, Mikey Covey and Wyatt Hurley. With one out, Nash Crisp produced a grounder that resulted in an inning-ending double play.

“If it’s two steps to his right or two steps to his left,” Shafer said of second baseman Noah Hancock, “it’s into the outfield for two runs. It’s just the way the game goes.”

After knocking on the door, Cascade finally broke through on the scoreboard in the fifth inning when Bonner doubled down the left-field line and Sickler followed with an RBI triple to right-center. Patereau grounded out to the shortstop but was still able to plate Sickler, trimming the deficit to 3-2.

In the top of the seventh, Bryson Walker doubled down the left-field line, but was caught being a little aggressive on a single to the shortstop by Bonner and was thrown out at third base. With two outs, Patereau was hit by a pitch before freshman Andy Alvarez came through with a clutch RBI single to center field to plate Bonner with the tying run.

Alvarez got two quick outs in the bottom half of the inning before Blanchet Catholic came through with consecutive singles by seniors Dylan Cuff and Tyson Smith. Grossman came in to run for the catcher Cuff after his single.

With the winning run in scoring position, Shafer went to Bonner, who has been strong especially in the last few weeks in closing out contests.

“We felt that matchup was the best matchup for us, thinking C.J. is in a situation where maybe we can get a punchout,” said Shafer. “It’s a different look, going from Blake to Andy to C.J., and the first pitch, it just kind of gets away, and the game is over.”

The quick change of fortunes that led Blanchet Catholic to its first-ever state title was one that Shafer barely registered after walking down in the dugout to get a drink of water. It was also a play that, although it was last, wasn’t the defining reason for the outcome — especially since Cascade and company would take Bonner and Sickler in those central positions every time.

“The thing I tell our guys all the time is there’s not one or two plays that cost you a game,” said Shafer. “There’s a million plays, you know. We had some opportunities early on that we didn’t capitalize on or let get away, there were any number of ways we could’ve swung it the other way.”

That, in itself, might have made the Challengers’ second loss in three years in the state title game a little harder to handle.

“It’s tough, it’s hard to swallow,” said Shafer. “Two years ago against Banks, I think we just got beat, and I think today against Blanchet Catholic, we had plenty of opportunities and maybe had one kind of slip away. But I’m proud of our kids, man, I’m proud of what they’ve done. I’m proud of who they are, and who they’ve become.”

“This was a year everybody was going to get the Challengers,” he added. “I kept hearing people tell me it’s a rebuilding year, it’s a rebuilding year. We have a saying at Cascade Christian where tradition doesn’t rebuild, we just reload. I think that’s a testament to our kids and our program. They weren’t surprised they ended up where they were at. We had nobody in our camp who was shocked that we’re winning one-run games in the playoffs. It stings today, but we’ll get better. We’ll grow from it, and we’ll be back.”

Cascade Christian 000 020 1 — 3  8  3

Blanchet Catholic 003 000 1 — 4  9  3

Patereau, Alvarez (6), Bonner (7) and Sickler; McNally and Cuff. W — McNally. L — Alvarez. 2B — CC: Walker, Bonner; BC: Cuff, Mosar. 3B — CC: Sickler.

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035