Jaxx just miss spot in Regionals

The Siskiyou Jaxx, a first-year Senior Babe Ruth team, came within a few innings of qualifying for the Pacific Northwest Regionals in Portland, Ore.

A 10-rule run loss to Klamath Falls in the championship game of the Southern Oregon State Tournament Sunday at Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls ended the Jaxx season.

The Jaxx finished with a 12-5 record, which was “more than I could ask for, especially for our first year getting organized,” said manager Jon Cox.

Siskiyou opened the state tournament with a 1-0 win over Klamath Falls, as Wade Berryhill of Yreka “pitched a masterful game,” according to Cox. Berryhill struck out 11 and allowed just 3 hits. He also hit the sacrifice fly that drove in the game’s only run, scoring Weed’s Travis Greene from third base. Greene had advanced to third on a single to right by LT Hisey of Dunsmuir.

The Jaxx then lost to Brookings Harbor, 12-2, on Saturday to fall into the tournament’s losers bracket.

After Klamath Falls defeated Brookings, 3-1, the Jaxx faced Brookings again in an elimination game on Sunday. This time Siskiyou came out on top, 9-3, behind a complete game pitching effort by Brandon Allen of Dunsmuir, who struck out 8 and allowed 9 hits. Hisey was 2 for 4 with a triple  and 2 runs batted in; and Jake Mekeel of Dunsmuir was 2 for 5 with an RBI.

That set up a Jaxx vs. Klamath Falls championship game with the winner earning a trip to the Regionals.

The Jaxx held a 5-4 lead after three innings, then “ran out of gas,” Cox said. Klamath Falls scored 6 runs in the fourth and 4 in the fifth to end the game on the 10-run rule.

“We played sloppy defense and stranded eight runners,” Cox said. “We didn’t clutch-up.”

The Jaxx roster included Travis Andrews and Travis Greene of Weed; Blake “LT” Hisey, Jake Mekeel and Brandon Allen of Dunsmuir; Ben Sampson, Colin Waterman, Chase Kamla, Dylan Morris and Brad Thomas of Mount Shasta; Wade Berryhill, Devin Howard, Taylor Barlow and Andrew Ward of Yreka; Clint Eastlick, Caleb Eastlick and Hank Johnson of Etna. Keith Morris was a coach.

After starting the season 10-0, the Jaxx lost three in a row last week before the state tournament. They dropped their third straight, 8-5, Tuesday of last week to the Pit River Channel Cats at Sons Park in Weed.

The loss followed two losses the Friday before in Klamath Falls, where the Jaxx lost four one-run leads, each time because of defensive errors.

Trailing the Channel Cats, 2-0, in the third inning, the Jaxx loaded the bases with no outs, but scored just one run against Pit River starter Colby Rimmer of Scott Valley.

After Jaxx pitcher Andrew Ward struck out two and retired another batter on a pop-out in the top of the fourth, Siskiyou scored three runs in the bottom of the inning. Run-scoring doubles by Taylor Barlow and Travis Andrews were followed by Ward’s RBI single to make it a 4-2 game.

The lead was short-lived as the Channel Cats took advantage of two Jaxx errors to open the fifth and plated five runs to take a 7-4 lead.

Three Jaxx batters reached on walks in the bottom of the inning, but again they mustered only one run.

Pit River added a run in the sixth and cruised to the victory.

The Channel Cats roster featured four Etna Lions players including Rimmer, who earned the win.

Will Johnson and Rickey Reynolds each had a hit for the Cats, and Tanner Shaefer scored a run and threw two scoreless innings in relief.

Andrews finished 1-for-2 with a double, a run scored, an RBI and a walk.
Ward went 1-for-1 with a walk and an RBI, while Barlow was 1-for-3 with a double and RBI.

Brad Thomas, LT Hisey, Dylan Morris and Jake Mekeel each had a hit for the Jaxx.

Travis Greene started on the mound for the Jaxx and threw two scoreless innings.
Ward followed, allowing two runs over two innings.

Hisey was saddled with the loss, allowing five runs (two earned) in one inning of work.

Thomas pitched the final two innings for the Jaxx and allowed one run while striking out four.

“I’m very appreciative of all the high schools,” Cox said. “This is the first time, going back to our American Legion teams, that we’ve had players from all five high schools on the same team. It shows they want to further their baseball skills. I thank the coaches who provided support and gave the program an opportunity to get off on the right foot.”