With ‘fire in our bellies,’ La Grande gets revenge on Hidden Valley, earns 4A Oregon baseball title

By René Ferrán | Photos by Leon Neuschwander 

KEIZER — The wait was well worth it for the La Grande baseball team.

The Tigers enjoyed a “planes, trains and automobiles” adventure since finding out early Saturday morning that their Class 4A state championship game against Hidden Valley was postponed due to inclement weather.

In the ensuing 72 hours between their bus pulling back into La Grande on Saturday evening and first pitch Tuesday night at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, their 12 seniors enjoyed a senior trip to Silverwood amusement park near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, while the eight juniors took final exams Monday.

There was enough time for a final practice Monday afternoon before boarding another bus to Hood River, where they spent Monday night. Tuesday involved driving to Aurora and a workout at North Marion before pulling into the parking lot for the game.

Once the game started, the Tigers got down to business early. Senior first baseman Nick Bornstedt’s two-out, two-run single in the first inning set the tone, and junior Jace Schow masterfully held Hidden Valley’s bats in check over six innings as La Grande won its third OSAA title in dominating fashion, 10-1. 

“One of the first things I said to them Saturday morning when we got canceled was that I would be more concerned if we didn’t have the camaraderie and the maturity that we have,” Tigers coach Parker McKinley said. “This group of kids, it’s 12 seniors and eight juniors, so the maturity level and the experience level is really strong with them. It’s something that shows in the way that they work together, and they trust each other.”

It’s a camaraderie built upon the foundation of a gut-wrenching 5-2 walkoff loss to Hidden Valley in last spring’s 4A Showcase tournament final — their last defeat to an in-state opponent — and added upon by a spring break trip to Arizona, during which the Tigers (28-1) went 3-1, beating 6A finalist Canby and a couple of Arizona teams.

“After a tough loss last year, to go down to Arizona and play teams that are really good and compete with them at a high level, it was just great,” said Bornstedt, wearing his blue cap and gown following an impromptu graduation ceremony while cradling the matching OSAA state championship trophy.

“We really worked hard this year just to play this game against this team, and we got our revenge.”

Upon their return from the desert, they did their usual number on their Eastern Oregon rivals, stringing together 12 consecutive shutouts at one point, before rolling through their three playoff games — including a no-hitter by Devin Bell in an 8-0 semifinal win over Philomath last Tuesday.

The postponement made Bell eligible to pitch in the final, but McKinley tapped Schow because of his assortment of offspeed pitches, which the coach felt would keep Hidden Valley’s potent offense that averaged nearly 11 runs per game under wraps.

“He’s got a great fastball, but his offspeed pitches are really good, and that was something we felt could be really effective to keep those guys off-balance,” McKinley said of the junior.

Schow was sharp from the start, striking out the side after allowing a leadoff single to Nate Vidlak to start the game and rolling through his six innings. He scattered six hits and a walk while striking out 11, relying upon his changeup for about 70% of his 101 pitches to improve to 10-0 with a 1.45 ERA.

“Then, my team was out here, putting up runs for me, so I don’t feel stressed out on the mound,” said Schow, who didn’t learn of his assignment until a couple of hours before game time. “When he told me, I was like, All right, let’s do this, but my nerves were like, Oof! But once I got out on the field, I knew I could do it, and my team was behind my back.”

The Mustangs (27-3) countered with senior Isaac Hill, an Oregon State signee who was 10-1 with a 1.10 ERA and 110 strikeouts, and Tuesdays’ game figured to be a pitchers duel.

But one pitch after Bornstedt’s single, Hill motioned to coach Mark Vidlak in the dugout to come out to the mound. He informed Vidlak that his elbow felt tight and he couldn’t continue.

“I don’t know if that rattled us,” Vidlak said. “But at the end of the day, I want to credit La Grande. Their pitcher was on point today, and we didn’t make an adjustment. They played really well, and we didn’t play good enough today.”

Vidlak’s son, Nate, a College of Idaho signee who had allowed just three earned runs over the past two years, took over on the mound and struck out the ensuing batter to end the inning.

The Mustangs scored their only run in the bottom of the second on a two-out balk, but Bornstadt quickly got it back a half-inning later with an RBI single to left. The Tigers tacked on another run in the fourth before driving Vidlak out of the game in the fifth on a two-run single by Braden Carson and a two-run double by Jarett Armstrong.

“I think we had some fire in our bellies from last year, which really made us come out and play our game,” said Schow, who capped the 10-hit barrage with a long solo home run to left in the sixth. “We knew we could never let up on these guys, because they’re a good team. So, we’re just never letting up the whole time.”

The result was Hidden Valley coming up short of its first OSAA state title in the program’s second appearance in the final.

“I’m really proud of our kids, and not just this year,” Coach Vidlak said. “These guys have been with me since they were eight years old. Yes, this is a really important game, but I’m proud of the kids and how they handled themselves today and in their careers. They’ve done some really special things.”

So have these La Grande players, many of whom played Little League together on the 2016 team that lost in the state final — this year’s juniors returned the next year to win the 2017 title and come within one victory of reaching the Little League World Series.

“We’ve been competing in state championships since we were 11 and 12 years old,” Bornstedt said. “It’s just awesome to finally get this done and win it and just love the moment.”