Senior-strong Blanchet Catholic captured its first state title in walk off fashion on Saturday

Story by Mike Weber

The Blanchet Catholic Cavaliers capped a nearly perfect season with a 4-3 win over the Cascade Christian Challengers in the OSAA / OnPoint Community Credit Union Class 3A baseball state championship game played Saturday afternoon at Champion Car Wash Field in Roseburg.

The winning run scored in the bottom of the seventh, when Blanchet pinch runner Josh Grossman scampered home on a wild pitch. For the Cavaliers of Salem, guided by first-year coach Jason Black, it was an historic win: their first baseball title in school history.

"I'm so proud of these guys,” said Black. “They're all great athletes who never give up and they always try their hardest, which is the greatest aspect about the team. They work hard in practice all year and they got the job done to help us win the championship."

Eleven seniors concluded their careers with state championships for Blanchet Catholic, including catcher Dylan Cuff, the Moda Health Player of the Game after a two-hit, two-RBI performance; and starting pitcher Carson McNally, who went the distance on the mound, scattering eight hits and fanning eight while walking no one.

"I'm really going to miss the seniors,” Black said. “It was a sad moment for me knowing that I'm losing them, but at the same time, I'm very happy that they got a championship that they deserved.”

The game looked like it was ticketed for extra innings when Cascade Christian reliever Andy Alvarez got two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh. But Cuff was able to extend the inning with a single up the middle, and Tyson Smith followed with a single to right that sent Grossman to third.

That brought McNally, who was 0-for-3, to the plate with the chance to end it. He didn’t have to. CJ Bonner, brought in to face McNally, threw his first pitch past catcher Grady Sickler to make the Cavaliers state champions.

“We were ready with one of our best hitters at the plate and we were hoping that he would just put the ball in play,” Black said. “It ended up with us winning the game on a passed ball and so I couldn't really ask for anything else.”

Blanchet got on the board first in the bottom of the third inning. The scoring started with Cuff’s one-out double to right center that plated two. A third run scored on Cascade Christian’s second error of the inning, making two of the runs unearned.

Cascade Christian, a very young team with only three seniors on the roster, got two back in the top of the fifth. Bonner scored on a Sickler triple. Sickler came home on Blake Patereau’s ground out to second.

Cascade Christian plated the equalizer in the top of the seventh, but the Challengers had to overcome adversity to knot the score. After Bryce Walker doubled to open the inning, Bonner singled to shortstop, but Walker was out trying to advance to third. Down to its final out, Cascade Christian put the tying run in scoring position after Patereau was hit by pitch. Alvarez then came through with a single to center to tie the game, which set the stage for the Blanchet Catholic end-game heroics.

Cascade Christian (24-7) reached the state title game for the second time in the last three years. This one eluded the Challengers, just as the game in 2023 did, but with the core group being so young, expect Kevin Shafer’s to be back in a championship game at least once in the next couple of year.

“They are going to be a very tough team for the next three years because they're very young,” Black said.