File photo – Royce Olson
Royce Olson and the Eureka Loggers are building momentum at the right time.
With a lack of games early in the season, the Eureka boys found it difficult to get in much of a rhythm, but that’s beginning to change.
On Wednesday, the Loggers won their fifth straight game, shutting out the Huskies 9-0 at Fortuna.
And no one played a bigger role than Olson, who pitched a complete-game one-hitter for the victory on the mound.
“He’s been working really hard at practice,” Eureka head coach Tommy Gale said of the junior. “He had a couple of outings he wasn’t so pleased with, so he made some adjustments and things fell together for him.”
According to his coach, Olson’s approach to the game and practice has been impressive.
“He’s been that guy that has a really good attitude for years,” the coach added. “And he’s been so patient waiting for his time, and he’s really rising to the occasion.”
On Wednesday he got plenty of offensive help, with the Loggers racking up 12 hits, including two apiece by four different players.
Alex Jimenez, Cooper Ohlsen, Jadyn Payton and Robert Williams each went 2-for-3, including doubles by Jimenez and Ohlsen.
Ohlsen also drove in three runs.
Michael Jewell, Ty Crawford, Cole Zeller and Garrett Levitt each also had a base hit in the win.
And that wasn’t all that impressed the coach.
“I think another positive fact is we had zero errors,” Gale said. “It was all-around good baseball.”
The Loggers took control early with three runs in the top of the first and would stretch the lead to eight in the fourth.
Drew Franklin finished 1-for-3 for Fortuna’s only hit of the game.
“Royce Olson threw a gem,” Fortuna head coach Max Betts said. “Props to him and the entire Eureka team. They had a great approach at the plate and hit the ball hard.”
With the win, the Loggers improved to 8-2 in the Big 5 and guaranteed themselves a No. 2 seed for next week’s Charles Lakin tournament.
The Huskies dropped to 4-6 and need one more win to assure themselves a spot in the Lakin postseason tournament.
The two schools will close out a three-game series this weekend.
As of Wednesday night, those games are still scheduled for Saturday, but the games could be brought forward to Friday because of the weather forecast.
