Prep recap: Middleton wins 15th straight. Kuna delivers walk-off. Eagle rolls in shutout
One of the Treasure Valley’s most surprising high school baseball teams continued to prove the doubters wrong Friday.
Middleton rallied to edge Columbia 3-2 in Nampa, extending the Vikings’ win streak to 15 games and inching them closer to the 4A Southern Idaho Conference regular-season title.
“(The team is) doing everything we ask and I can’t say enough about how coachable this entire group is,” Middleton coach Bryan Swygart said. “We don’t have a single ‘me’ player on the team, and that makes my job super easy.”
The Vikings (20-2, 11-1 4A SIC) were picked to finish third in their league despite winning the regular-season title last year and returning five starters. But Swygart kept the momentum going in his first year leading the program.
“These guys are powerful men and the way they go about their day-to-day business, their coachability and going the extra step mentally means more to me than the wins and losses,” Swygart said. “And guys like (Robert Orloski) are easy to coach.”
Orloski, a junior committed to Division-I Texas-San Antonio, struck out nine while holding Columbia to two runs on four hits through five innings for the win. He also went 1-for-4 with a triple.
“I know I have to be behind my team, because they’re behind me all the time,” Orloski said. “I just try to keep my head up and cheer them on. They’ll always perform for me, so I just try to perform for them.”
Columbia (15-7, 9-4) took control in the first inning with a Caden Campa’s two-run double. The Wildcats nursed a 2-1 lead until Middleton’s Treyton Swygart answered with a two-run double in the fifth to retake the lead.
Dad couldn’t have been more impressed from the dugout.
“Trey had been struggling a little bit of late, but he had a different vibe about him today,” Bryan Swygart said. “He felt good, he looked good and you could tell mentally he was ready to go. He doesn’t take plays off and once he got that, I felt that we were in complete control of the game.”
Columbia looked to mount one last rally in the sixth. But Orloski robbed TJ Murray of a sure single with a diving catch and throw at third base to end the inning.
Treyton Swygart finished 2-for-2 and threw two scoreless innings for the save. Mario DeLeon struck out nine but took the loss for Columbia.
The win reduces Middleton’s magic number for a repeat 4A SIC title to one. The Vikings can clinch the conference crown again with a win at home vs. Ridgevue on Tuesday or a Bishop Kelly loss to Nampa the same day.
“During practice we’re always working hard and always willing to put in the extra work,” Orloski said. “We have a great defense and we always put good at-bats together. We’re able to plow games even if they’re close and we never get down on each other.”
FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
- Aliana Giddings, Kuna (softball): Ripped a walk-off single to left field in the bottom of the seventh to cap a come-from-behind, 5-4 win over Capital.
- Lizzy Tommasini, Eagle (softball): Threw a four-hit shutout and struck out seven in a 16-0, five-inning win vs. Rocky Mountain. She also went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
- Amber Thornton/Delaney Wright, Timberline (softball): Combined to throw a five-inning no-hitter and strike out 10 in an 18-0 rout of Meridian.
- Lily Justesen, Skyview (softball): Went 4-for-4 with a triple, a home run and seven RBIs as the Hawks slugged their way to an 18-4 win over Boise.
