UPDATE: SUNDAY 7 a.m. – Nyssa split its double header with Umatilla on Saturday, May 10. The Bulldogs won the first game 16-5 and lost the second 8-7.
NYSSA – The game was a thriller.
On a warm Tuesday afternoon, the Nyssa-Adrian softball team found itself trailing the Vale Vikings 10-9.
The Vikings, ranked fifth in the state, were poised to keep intact their perfect Eastern Oregon League record.
And the Bulldogs faced the prospect of losing to a team that Nyssa hasn’t beaten in softball since 2021.
Then, it happened.
Sophomore Hailey Harnden made it to base on a throwing error.
Next, Tessa Schulthies popped out.
Emily Vela got a single, moving Harnden to third and reaching second base on a throw home.
Freshman Mattox Baldwin, a freshman, stepped up, connecting on the first pitch.
Then sent Harnden and Vela home, putting the Bulldogs up 11-10 for the win.
“Our primary statement to our team tonight was, ‘This isn’t a hoax and this wasn’t a surprise. You are becoming THAT kind of a team. Believe it,” said Coach Tracy Cleaver.
The game left the Bulldogs with a 6-3 league record while the Vikings went home 7-1.
For Nyssa-Adrian, pitcher Addie Cleaver had 12 strikeouts and Grace Chamberlain had eight “in a fun back-and-forth slugfest,” Cleaver said.
The Bulldogs were scheduled to play a league double header against Umatilla on Saturday, May 10, at Hermiston High School. They round out the regular season with non-league games on Tuesday, May 13, against Baker-Powder Valley-Pine Eagle and Wednesday, May 14, at Ontario. The last league game is Tuesday, May 20, against Burns-Crane.
