Approaching the fourth hour of its game against the Eastern Oregon University (EOU) Mountaineers and staring down a 13-19 deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning, Whitman baseball could’ve easily admitted defeat. Instead, the Blues scored eight runs, the last three on a walk-off home run, to pull off an inconceivable 21-19 victory. Whitman entered the game on April 7 with only six wins on the season, but its win over EOU kicked off a four-game winning streak through April 12.
While the victory was a tremendous display of the Blues’ perseverance and grit, it certainly wasn’t always pretty for them, particularly on the defensive end. In a game that spanned four hours and eight minutes and included 440 pitches, Whitman pitchers allowed more walks (16) than hits (15) as both teams struggled to get off the field defensively.
The defensive issues started off the bat for the Blues. EOU was able to get on base off an error and ended up scoring an unearned run before first-year pitcher Hawthorne Moody closed out the top of the first inning. The Blues were much more successful in capitalizing on their offensive opportunity in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of the Mountaineers’ poor defense and scoring four runs to take the lead by three. The second inning went much smoother for both teams, with Whitman allowing just one unearned run and EOU pitcher Tyler Harper allowing zero hits or walks.
The third inning saw many defensive struggles on the pitching side. The Blues allowed two walks, one hit-by-pitch and two runs off wild pitches that the Mountaineers stole home on. After a pitching change, the Blues managed to minimize the damage and leave the inning with a tied game of 4-4. Whitman again answered on offense, scoring five runs with two outs already on the board to gain a hefty five-point lead.
The game continued at a back-and-forth pace throughout the fourth inning, and EOU tied the game, ending the top of the fifth inning. The Blues quickly responded, regaining the lead with a solo home run from junior first-baseman Sam Mieszkowski-Lapping.
“It’s all about doing your part and helping the team out to put us in a winning situation,” Mieszkowski-Lapping said. “I think just going up there and doing your job and not freaking out or trying to do too much in a certain situation is important.”
Following the fifth inning, tensions seemed to be rising on both sides. This resulted in a dispute involving players and coaches from both teams chirping at each other and the umpire. Both teams received sportsmanship warnings in the sixth inning.
Whitman Head Coach Brian Kitamura declined to comment on the matter.
EOU scored a run in the sixth to tie the game, and neither team would score again until the eighth inning, when outfielder Andrew Demianew hit a two-run homer to take the lead for the Mountaineers. The Blues were unable to answer, and the Mountaineers widened their lead to six runs in the ninth.
On the ropes in the bottom of the ninth, the Blues used a combination of timely hitting and steals off wild pitches to battle their way back within one run. With two outs and the game down to the wire, junior outfielder Noah Braunel delivered a game-ending three-run home run to send the Blues into a celebratory frenzy.
“We didn’t play very clean baseball in certain innings and allowed Eastern Oregon to come back into the game,” Kitamura said. “But we showed a lot of resiliency in the ninth inning.”
Despite the long duration of the game and umpiring that seemed to change the strike zone with every pitch, both teams competed fiercely throughout, leaving fans with a baseball experience to remember.
“It’s definitely harder to keep your focus for a four hour game,” Mieszkowski-Lapping said. “It was really helpful to have 38 other guys with you there trying to push us, push everyone and keep us going.”
While the Whitman vs. EOU matchup was a big win for the Blues, the game was also a big win for student athlete mental health. April 7 was the first “awareness match” for the Whitman chapter of The Hidden Opponent (THO), a national non-profit organization that raises awareness about athlete mental health.
“The point of [THO] is to have a point of contact for people who might be scared to reach out, but also spreading awareness and getting the conversation started about mental health, because that’s not super common on campus right now,” Angela Roberts, a student associated with THO, said.
As THO looks to continue to support athletes’ mental health at Whitman, the Blues now face the final stretch of the regular season. They have 10 Northwest Conference games to try to avoid last place in the conference and make a push for a playoff-qualifying seed.
