The Mountain View Thunder had no thoughts of tying for a league baseball title.
They wanted it all to themselves.
Riley O’Dell struck out 12, Zach Torson and Justin Rinta each hit home runs, and the Thunder beat Camas for the second consecutive day — with a 7-2 decision Friday — to win the outright championship in the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League.
Mountain View, which won its first league title in the sport since 1993, will be the top seed at next week’s district tournament after finishing with an 11-1 GSHL mark. Camas, 9-3, will be No. 2. The Papermakers could have tied for the title and taken the top seed with a win Friday.
A season ago, Camas won the final two regular season games over Mountain View to win the league title.
“Oh, we were hungry,” O’Dell said. “It feels so good after last year. We had a lot of restrained things we wanted to get out against them.”
The Thunder beat Camas 10-0 on Thursday, then scored four runs in the bottom of the first Friday to get things started in their direction.
O’Dell gave up a first-inning home run to Austin Barr, then struck out the next six Camas batters.
The 1-0 deficit was wiped away in a hurry in the bottom of the frame.
Michael Rivers, Jake Shelley, and O’Dell each picked up hits, with Shelley getting a run-scoring double. An error, a sacrifice fly from Torson, and three hit batsmen the rest of the inning led to three more runs across the plate.
“We hadn’t played our best baseball all year. We were up and down. We hadn’t put a full game together until the last four or five games,” Mountain View coach Aaron Coiteux said. “It’s all because the kids kept believing this was something special this year. Let’s hope it continues.”
O’Dell pitched out of two jams to keep Mountain View in control. He got a strikeout for the final out in the fourth with two runners on base.
Camas got a run in the fifth and then loaded the bases before O’Dell forced a pop-out for the third out.
“I felt a lot of stress,” O’Dell said. “I knew it was a huge situation. After that last out, I was like, ‘Yeah!’ It felt so good to get off the field.”
He was energized, as well, striking out the side in order in the sixth.
“I knew when I got that first out in the sixth, I was locked in, ready to go,” O’Dell said.
J.T. Kaul pitched a perfect final inning, striking out two to close the deal.
Rinta’s solo shot in the fourth made it 5-1 for Mountain View. Torson, who shut out the Papermakers in the first game, hit a solo shot in the fifth to make it 6-2.
Dean Taylor’s run-scoring single in the sixth got one more run for the Thunder.
Camas coach Joe Hallead tipped his hat to the Thunder.
“They watched us do this last year. It was their time. They went out and got it. They earned everything they got,” Hallead said. “Riley O’Dell and Zach Torson, back-to-back, really were amazing. I’m not going to say I’m happy for (the Thunder) but I respect them.”
This might not be the last time the two teams play each other. Camas will play in the district semifinals Wednesday, with the winner to take on Mountain View on Thursday.
