It may not have been the most clean game of high school baseball, errors in the game could mount to 10 based on the scoreboard, or a personal scorer’s opinion could have a different total, either way, the Battle Ground Tigers racked up 10 hits and 10 runs to take down the Ridgefield Spudders 10-5 on Wednesday, March 25.
“We made a lot of errors today, but we do have some dynamic players defensively to be able to play a clean game,” Tigers’ head coach Seth Johnson said. “Today wasn’t the cleanest game, but I think we can win games with pitching, with defense and offensively, as well.”
The Tigers started Ethan Adams on the bump, who threw for three innings, striking out seven and giving up three earned runs — four total. Axel Massie completed the game for the Tigers with four innings of relief, giving up just two hits, one unearned run and striking out two.
“We have five or six guys who have good stuff, not just throw strikes, but have good stuff,” Johnson said of his pitchers. “So I think right there we’re in the mix. I think with those arms, we can win some games, and I think we do have the ability to win games in multiple ways.”
Johnson has implemented an ease-approach for his pitching staff by building up their pitch counts as the games roll on through the season in hopes to avoid injury.
The Tigers have jumped out to an X-X start on the year, proving their ability to win games in different situations. The Tigers opened with a pair of close wins against North Creek High School, 6-5, and the Union Titans, 5-3, on Saturday, March 14 before a 15-0 obliteration of Heritage High School the following Monday. In the Clark County Baseballism Kickoff Classic, the Tigers beat the Lake Washington Kangaroos 8-2, before losing 9-4 to the Kennedy Catholic Lancers in a game Johnson said his team struggled with competitive at-bats.
Johnson was much more pleased with the at-bats against the Spudders, with an approach this season of emphasizing competitive at-bats for the bottom half of the lineup to get on base for the monsters at the top of the batting order. The Tigers boast Cooper McGowan, a junior and Oregon State commit leading off, Dylan Gunderson, a junior moving up to batting second, Collin McGowan, Prep Baseball Washington’s No. 2 overall recruit in the state for the class of 2028, and a power-hitting lefty committed to the University of Washington, senior James Gill III — who was walked three times in the March 25 matchup against Ridgefield.
The McGowan brothers combined for four hits against Ridgefield, with Collin McGowan roping a two-RBI triple in the top of the fourth inning, driving in the game-winning run to go up 6-4.
With the Tigers having just three more games before spring break, Johnson is hoping this non-league stretch in the first half will build some experience and confidence.
“The goal of the non-league season, you know, over winning and losing, it’s playing hard and preparing for the league season because our league is season is such a grind with all three other teams being so solid,” he said. “All four teams could be in the (Greater St. Helens) League. All four teams could take fourth, you know.”
On Friday, March 27, Battle Ground beat/lost Seton Catholic Cougars X-X.
Battle Ground now looks to play a road affair against Clackamas High School at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 2.
The Spudders finished their non-league portion with a rocky 1-4 start to the season. The 2A GSHL stretch began on Friday, March 27, against the Washougal Panthers, resulting in a 5-1 win, with Monday, March 30’s result unavailable by press time.
The Spudders next square off against Woodland on the road at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, and at home on Friday, April 3, at 4:30 p.m. at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex.
