The No. 1-seeded Burns Hilanders hosted the first round of the 2A/1A State Baseball Playoffs in Burns Wednesday, May 25, and continued the solid hitting and pitching that has been on display this season with a 16-1 victory over Dufur/South Wasco County.

Justin Lewellen started the game at pitcher, and over five innings, only gave up three hits while striking out seven. Zach McDonald came in to finish the last two innings and allowed one hit, striking out four.  While the Rangers were able to score the first run of the game in the first inning and take a short-lived 1-0 lead, the Hilander bats came alive, and Burns scored runs in every inning.

Burns came up with 11 hits on the day, with Ty Hueckman leading the way with  three hits, including a double and triple, and two RBIs. Other Hilanders with multiple hits included Trace Tiller, Kalib LaChapelle, and Bryce Goss. Tiller crossed the plate four times in the game, while Boyd Vinson scored three runs. Vinson and Talon Case each walked three times, while the Ranger pitching gave up a total of 13 walks on the day. Burns improved to 22-5 with the win, and moved on to play the Waldport Irish, 19-5, in the second round of the playoffs.

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The second round of the OSAA state playoffs was held in Burns Friday, May 27, and the top-ranked Burns Hilanders continued their consistent play with a 7-1 victory over the Walport Irish. It was the Hilanders’ 18th straight victory over the past two months, and allowed them to advance to the semi-finals.

Hueckman went the distance on the mound for Burns and dominated the Irish, allowing only three hits and striking out 15. The Irish pitching was almost as effective in the early innings, and with no score in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Hilanders scored a couple of runs to go up 2-0. That would be all Hueckman would need as he continually put down the Irish each inning with strike outs and a solid defense. A Waldport pitching change in the sixth inning allowed Burns to take advantage of some costly walks and timely hits to score four runs to increase their lead to 7-0.

Case had two hits on the day, and Vinson and Ty Reid each had two RBIs.  Goss had the only extra base hit against the Irish with a double for the Hilanders.

Waldport scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh to avoid the shutout as the Hilanders advanced in the playoffs. With the win, Burns improved to 23-5 on the season. Waldport finished the season at 19-6.

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Burns played Irrigon (18-5) in a semifinal game on Tuesday, May 31. Irrigon came in as the No. 4 seed in the playoffs. Results of the contest were unavailable at press time.

The winner of the Burns-Irrigon game will face the winner of the  Monroe-Knappa game at Volcano Stadium in Salem on Friday, June 3, for the 2A/1A state championship.