In a battle between Class 6A’s titans of the field this spring, it was West Linn blanking Jesuit in the OSAA baseball state championship game on Saturday at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer.
The Lions made it back-to-back state championships with a 2-0 win over the Crusaders.
West Linn got on the scoreboard first in the top of the first inning. Danny Wideman scored on an RBI single by Jake Holmes.
The Lions made it a 2-0 lead in the top of fifth inning as Mitchell Rowe scored on an error.
Drake Gabel pitched all seven innings for West Linn, allowing six hits and one walk with four strikeouts. Offensively, Jake Holmes led the Lions with one hit and one RBI.
Noble Meyer pitched all six innings for Jesuit, allowing two hits, one earned run and one walk while striking out 14 West Linn batters. The Crusaders had four errors in the game, including one costly error that allowed a score.
The state championship is the fourth for the Lions and the second in a row. Last season, West Linn beat Canby in the most lopsided big school state championship game ever.
Jesuit’s season ends with a 26-6 record. The Crusaders are now 2-2 in state championship games after last winning in 2019.
The two teams had met previously in the season, with the Crusaders beating the Lions 9-6 on March 17.