Bend High baseball falls 7-1 to Wilsonville in top 2 matchup
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In a highly anticipated showdown between two of the top programs in the state, Bend High hosted Wilsonville Thursday at Vince Genna Stadium.
Wilsonville came out strong, using solid pitching and timely offense to take control early. Bend hung tough and kept things close into the middle innings thanks to a gritty performance on the mound and some early base traffic, but they struggled to bring runners home when it mattered most.
Wilsonville’s stars is what made the difference, with one standout athlete—also known for his football heroics— Mark Wiepert delivering a massive all-around performance that shifted momentum and sealed the game. Wiepert was an Oregon State baseball commit, but then committed to Oregon to play football.
Despite the final score of 7-1 in favor of Wilsonville, Bend showed flashes of their potential and are expected to be a major contender once league play kicks in. This one may have gone to the Wildcats, but don’t count the Lava Bears out just yet.
“We let the outside noise in," head coach Quinn Clair said post-game. "We're just kind of creeping up in the rankings, and people are looking at that. It’s one versus two. And we didn’t play like No. 2 today,” he said. “Sometimes it takes a loss like this to kick it back into gear and get us back to reality."
The sentiment was clear: the team isn’t discouraged, but rather determined to grow from the experience.
"I mean, we’re not losing, we’re learning," senior Makai Morton said. “That’s a tough loss out there, but we just got to hold our heads up. That’s all we can do,” he continued. “If we get those little things done and move on from losses like this—and if there are more losses in the future — we just keep pushing. I think we can go pretty far, if not all the way.”
With league play just around the corner, the Lava Bears are looking to channel this adversity into fuel for a deep postseason run.
