The Cheney Studs are in a convenient situation. With an automatic berth to the postseason and the national baseball tournament already in hand, they are able to use the regular season as training. And they’re gaining valuable experience at dealing with adversity.
The latest such case was on July 3, when the Studs blew a three-run lead in the seventh inning against the North Sound Emeralds, but answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the eighth to take a 6-3 win at the University of Puget Sound.
“We have found some resolve in tough situations,” said Studs head coach Barry Aden. “And we’ve played ourselves into a lot of tough situations by not playing clean baseball.
“We haven’t separated enough early in the game.”
Leading 3-0 in the top of the seventh, reliever Jared Van Hoon allowed the Emeralds to load the bases on two singles and a hit by pitch. A two-out fielding error by shortstop Bobby Joe Tannehill – plus a throwing error by left fielder Connor Savage – allowed all three runs to score.
“Typically we play good defense, but lately we’ve had the yips on defense,” Aden said. “It’s made things closer than they have to be.”
That negated a great outing by Studs starter Nick Busto – a sophomore at Cornell University – who shut out the Emeralds over six innings, allowing just one hit and three walks with 10 strikeouts.
But the Studs retook the lead in the bottom of the eighth when Curtis High School grad and Washington State University sophomore Jordan Copeland tripled to right center to lead off the inning, and Reid Martinez plated him with a double to left center. Savage then plated Martinez with a sharp single to center and scored on a single by Pierce College sophomore Brian Corliss to make it 6-3. Savage, a sophomore at the University of Puget Sound, finished 4-for-4 with two runs scored, two stolen bases and a run batted in.
Derek Voight had come on in the eighth to pitch two scoreless innings, allowing just one walk with four strikeouts to pick up the win for the Studs.
Lee Stoops finished 2-for-4 with two runs batted in for the Studs, putting them up 1-0 in the first inning with a single to score Tannehill. Tannehill added a bases-loaded walk while Stoops smacked another run-scoring single in the fifth to make it 3-0.
The Studs fell 12-7 to the Thurston County Senators on July 5, but responded with 11-6 and 6-0 wins over the Kelowna Jays in a doubleheader on July 7 to move to 26-8 overall on the year.
After a few more regular season games, they will wrap up the season later this month by hosting the Studs Invitational Tournament at the University of Puget Sound and Curtis High School on July 26-28. They then will head off to the National Baseball Congress World Series – for which they have earned the automatic berth – on Aug. 1.
“The whole season is preparation to go there and win,” Aden said. “(We’re) not having to win every game here. It’s more about being ready to go once we get there.”