Eagles unable to solve Homedale, Mason Taylor despite strong start from Sorensen

TWIN FALLS — The Marsh Valley Eagles arrived in Twin Falls for the 4A Idaho High School Baseball State Championships with the words “State or Bust” written across the back of their bus. They will have to run off a four-game winning streak to avoid busting, after suffering an opening-round loss to the Homedale Trojans Thursday at the College of Southern Idaho’s Skip Walker Field.

No. 3-seeded Marsh Valley made mistakes both defensively and on the base paths, surrendering extra chances while zapping its own offensive momentum. Those mistakes, according to head coach Kent Howell, decided the game, with No. 2 Homedale securing a 3-0 victory.

“That’s baseball,” he told EastIdahoSports.com after the game. “It’s the top four teams in the state going at it. You’ve got to play good, you’ve got to play clean, and Homedale did a good job of that.”

Homedale sophomore Mason Taylor pitched like he was in a rush to get to a dinner reservation, needing less than 90 minutes and just 86 pitches to complete a shutout of the Eagles.

The Eagles had already faced the tall right-hander on March 20, when Taylor struck out 10 while holding Marsh Valley to five hits and one run in a 7-1 Trojan victory. He was just as good Thursday, allowing seven hits while striking out seven in a complete game shutout.

Howell said that Taylor did a good job of locating his pitches while mixing speeds and movement to keep the Marsh Valley hitters off-balance.

“He’s got three different pitches that he’s really good with,” Howell said of Taylor. “He’s just a good pitcher, top-caliber pitcher.”

The Eagles, though, helped Taylor a bit with some shoddy base running.

A Marsh Valley base runner was picked off at first base in the second inning, putting the brakes on a one-on, one-out situation. Another runner was caught stealing second with one out in the fourth. The putout was immediately followed by a single.

In the fifth, a runner was tagged out attempting to advance from second to third on a ground ball to the Homedale shortstop, creating an out without the need to throw across the diamond and plucking a runner from scoring position. That play was also followed by a single.

Finally, another runner was picked off at second for the third out in the sixth, ending the inning with two Eagles on base.

“We were horrendous on the base paths today, and that is uncharacteristic — mistakes we haven’t made all year,” Howell said. “Base-running outs are daggers in big games, and every time we had a chance to score, and would have scored without those base-running errors — that’s what stings when you lose 3-0.”

Howell called the gaffes “demoralizing.”

Taylor and Sorensen were locked in a pitcher’s duel early — and an efficient one to boot.

The scoreless game reached the third inning in less than 20 minutes, with Marsh Valley wasting base runners in the first and second, and Sorensen retiring the first seven Trojan batters in order.

But with one down in the third, Homedale finally got something cooking with a bunt single from Xavier Uranga. Boston Ivie followed with a double on the very next pitch, putting two runners in scoring position with just one out. After walking Homedale lead-off man Chance Martell to load the bases, then surrendering an RBI single to Taylor, Sorensen held the Trojans to two runs with an assist from the trio of right fielder Mayan Noble, catcher Chandler Bennett and shortstop Tate Whitworth.

That one run came across on a sacrifice fly to right, but Noble’s throw was strong enough for Bennett to send a return throw to Whitworth, who slapped a tag on Taylor attempting to advance to second.

Homedale scored again in the third, boosted by a one-out throwing error.

Sorensen, though, limited the damage there as well, then worked around a bases-loaded situation in the sixth. He finished the game allowing seven hits and three runs, two earned.

“Boston did a really good job,” Howell said. “We talk with our pitchers all the time about composure, and today that was Boston. It didn’t matter what was happening, he just took it one pitch at a time. … We were really proud of Boston, he pitched good enough to win.”

Bennett and left fielder Cooper Curzon tallied two hits apiece to lead Marsh Valley.

While the loss does not eliminate the Eagles, they are in the difficult situation of needing to win four straight games in order to leave Twin Falls with a banner.

Because of Sorensen’s effort, though, all other Marsh Valley pitchers are fully available and fresh for what they hope will be two games each on Friday and Saturday.

Howell said the key to bouncing back is staying positive.

“It just doesn’t do any good to be negative,” the coach said, explaining what the conversation was like between his coaching staff and the team after the game. “We want them having fun, too; we don’t want to take them out of that.”

Marsh Valley will face the loser of Thursday night’s matchup between No. 1-seeded Fruitland and No. 4 Cole Valley in a 1 p.m. elimination game. Thursday night’s winner will face Homedale at 4 p.m., with the loser to face Friday’s early-game winner in another elimination game at 7 p.m.