HAPPY VALLEY – A five-run burst in the third inning was all No. 1 Clackamas baseball needed on offense to take down No. 4 Jesuit in the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 6A state semifinals on Tuesday at Clackamas.
The Crusaders scored first in the top of the second inning, but the Cavaliers got the run right back in the second and junior starting pitcher Cade King pitched a scoreless top of the third.
In the bottom half, the Cavaliers had a triple and four singles, along with two walks and an error, that brought home five runs to go up 6-1.
Junior Jaxon Wetzler came in to pitch in the fourth, and despite some walks, held the Crusaders off the scoreboard as Clackamas cruised to the 8-1 victory behind 13 hits to only four for Jesuit.
“All the hard work we’ve put in every day,” Clackamas senior Jacob Strube said of what got into the offense. “Morning hitting, this team is unbelievable. We are resilient and I can’t put it into words.”
Jesuit loaded the bases in the first inning thanks to a leadoff single and two walks delivered from King, but the junior got a ground ball to third to end the threat.
Sophomore Ethan Peng was the starter for Jesuit, and he got off on the right foot with a three up, three down inning for the Crusaders.
Two walks and a sacrifice bunt in the top of the second put runners on first and second for Jesuit with one out. Junior Kyle Goodwin rolled a ball to second where the Cavaliers got the out there, but an error on the throw to first for the potential double play allowed the lead runner to score and put Jesuit up 1-0.
In the bottom half, Clackamas senior Justin Larsen doubled to get the inning started, moved to third on a sac bunt from senior Ben Foglio and scored on a Strube single.
Clackamas, a team with 12 seniors listed on the roster, saw plenty of production from its elder statesmen throughout the victory on Tuesday.
“They’re the backbone,” Cavaliers head coach JJ Winkle said of the senior group. “Everyone talks about our juniors and the pitching and how good our juniors are, but our seniors are the backbone. They’re the ones who have carried us all year. They have been integral.”
King worked his strong third to set up the big bottom half for Clackamas, which began with a triple from junior Jonah Lim to the right field corner.
Senior Kyle Kristensen followed with a single to center to score Lim and make it 2-1 Cavaliers. A walk to Nolan Foglio and an error on a sac bunt from Larsen loaded the bases with no outs.
Ben Foglio was up again and singled to the edge of the outfield grass right between the third baseman and short stop, plating one more run and chasing Peng.
Junior Asher Bates came in to pitch for Jesuit, but Strube singled again up the middle to make it a 4-1 Clackamas lead.
“He’s a great guy and is always supporting me and picking me up,” Wetzler said of Strube. “I got his back on the pitching.”
A walk to junior Luke Brady scored another run and a single from senior CJ Limbo to left field put the score at 6-1 Cavaliers after three.
Wetzler came in to pitch from there, something the junior has been getting used to in the postseason after being a starter throughout the season.
“(Wetzler) has done an absolute fabulous job of coming in and relieving,” Wetzler said. “That’s a testament to him because he’s used to starting. He’s got his program, get out here an hour and a half ahead of time. Now he’s called upon on short rest and not knowing when it’s gonna be.”
“We already had the lead so I just needed to go do my job,” Wetzler said of coming into the game. “Just gotta adapt and help the team whatever way they need me.”
Wetzler walked two in the top of the fourth, but the Cavaliers were able to pickoff a runner on first thanks to catcher Nick Foglio catching the runner sleeping. A pop out to short ended the frame.
Clackamas added another couple of runs in the bottom of the fourth when Nick Foglio doubled, followed by a Larsen single. Ben Foglio then ripped an RBI ground-rule double to right field, chasing Bates and bringing in Jesuit junior Nico Fernandez to pitch.
Strube had an infield single on the next at bat to load the bases. After a strikeout of Brady, Limbo had a sac fly to right to make it 8-1 Cavs after four.
From there, it was all defense as Wetzler gave up a leadoff single in the fifth, but a popout followed by a 5-4-3 double play ended the inning.
In the top of the sixth, Jesuit had runners on second and third with one out, but an infield popout and a groundout to third ended that threat as well.
“It’s just consistency, we’ve had it the entire year,” Strube said. “Big moments come easy to us, it’s very awesome.”
In the seventh, a one-out single did no damage as a grounder to third led to the force at second and then one final groundout to second ended the game and sent the Cavaliers to the state title game for the first time since 2018.
“It’s a family, we’ve been together since day one,” Strube said. “It means so much. I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else.”
Ben Folgio went 3-for-3 with two RBI while Strube was 3-for-4 with two RBI. Larsen had a two-hit game and scored three runs as well.
Pitching wise, King went three innings with one unearned run allowed on one hit with two strikeouts and six walks. Wetzler went four innings with no runs allowed on three hits with no Ks and three walks.
“It was exciting, all the work they’ve put in hitting in the morning everyday, seeing it come to fruition is pretty cool,” Wetzler said of watching the offense work. “Peaking at the right time, pitching good, playing good defense, hitting good, it feels really good.”
The opponent in the state title game will be No. 3 West Linn who knocked off No. 2 Tualatin 5-2 on Tuesday. The game is set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 6 at Roto Rooter Park in Keizer.
The Lions, state champions from 2022-2024 and five times overall, have certainly been there and done that recently, but the Cavaliers are three-time state champs themselves (2008, 2010 and 2017).
That 2017 state champion team took out West Linn in the final 5-1, a result the Cavaliers hope to see again come Saturday.
“The last couple of games we’ve been swinging the bat against some decent pitching, so hopefully we can bottle it up and take it down there with us to Salem on Saturday,” Winkle said.
“I just know we gotta beat them,” Strube said of what he knows about West Linn. “Just gotta win.”
austinw@osaa.org
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