Sweep of Siuslaw Carries Elmira from Worst to First

Elmira head baseball coach Wolgamott told me that he hoped his team could finish .500 after a disastrous 0-10 league mark last year.  A bus accident at the beginning of the year which injured two vital players  for the season did nothing to instill hope for that possibility.  However, something strange happened on the way to predictions and prognostications.  After sweeping Siuslaw 5-2 and 10-0, the unlikely cellar dwellers of the previous season see themselves in first place in the 4A Sky-Em league, and ranked 8th overall in 4A with a sparkling 11-2 record and an unblemished 5-0 mark in the league approaching the half way point. 

Bryson Estrella and Hunter Stockinger combined to hold down the Vikings to two runs on three hits in the opener.  Elmira offense was aided by 5 Siuslaw error which allowed the Falcons to muscle out to a 4-0 lead before the Vikings could even muster an offense against Estrella and Stockinger who combined for 11 strikeouts in the game.

It was not a one man show in the nightcap but the Falcons only needed one pitcher. 

Ayden Wolgamott took the hill for Elmira and twirled a masterful, 2 hit, shortened shut out of the Vikings.  Wolgamott's stat line boasted a gaudy 13 strikeouts in 5 innings pitched against a single walk. 

Only leading 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth, the Falcons decided they wanted to give Wolgamott the rest of the night off for his performance.  Elmira brokered 5 hits, 4 walks, an error and a hit batter to ring up an 8 spot in the bottom of the fifth to end a shortened game. Wolgamott helped his own cause scoring three times on the day.  Elmira hitting was led by Cobyn Herbert who got two hits and an RBI sacrifice fly.

Now begins the time to measure Elmira sudden thrust into 4A relevance.  Because of weather schedule changes in the first half of the league schedule, the Falcons must play the next 8 games on the road including 3 double headers including the crucial meeting with Junction City which could conceivably be for the Sky-Em Championship.  They finish with a home double header with Marist.  A victory this Tuesday April 23 at Marist will go a long way towards any playoff aspirations the Falcons are nurturing right now.