Oran uses grand slam to stop Chaffee

~ Pitcher Chase Seyer allows three hits, catcher Caleb Seyer belts grand slam.

It had been about four or five weeks since Chase Seyer last threw more than one inning.

There wasn't a speck of rust on the Oran southpaw.

Seyer struck out seven and walked five as the Eagles downed Chaffee 8-3 in a well-pitched baseball game Monday in Oran.

"He had a little extra zip on his fastball," Oran catcher Caleb Seyer said.

Oran's Chase Seyer delivered a pitch to a Chaffee batter. Seyer allowed three hits in throwing a complete game.

Chase Seyer didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning, when he committed his lone mistake. He hung a fastball that Trenton Horman pounded for a two-run home run. Seyer improved to 3-1 on the mound this season.

"He was changing speeds a lot," Oran coach Mitch Wood said. "He finally got in a groove."

Chase Seyer used his fastball and threw in an occasional changeup and curveball to keep the Chaffee batters off balance. He said he uses his changeup as his out pitch.

"I was mostly using my fastball," Seyer said. "It's not fast, but I can spot it pretty well."

He admitted he was starting to tire in the late innings after not going more than an inning in over a month.

"I can always tell myself I can go further," he said. "I just keep going until the coaches bring me back in."

Oran took a 3-0 lead in the third inning when Tyler Beardslee pounded a home run to left-center field, barely out of the reach of Chaffee center fielder Jerrod Steger.

"He came in and said he should have had it," Chaffee coach Brian Horrell said.

The Red Devils answered in the fourth when Andy Hendrix scored on a ground out, then Horman launched his two-run homer to left field. On the pitch before the homer, Horman took a strike and glared back at the umpire before rocketing Seyer's fastball out of the park to even the score at 3-3.

"I was looking to drive [a pitch] to right-center," Horman said. "It was right down the middle and I turned on it."

The Eagles retook the lead in their half of the fourth when Chris Asmus scored on an error.

Chase Seyer and Chaffee starter Chris Hanback kept the offenses quiet until Oran loaded the bases with one out in the sixth.

Hanback got Caleb Seyer in an 0-2 hole and looked poised to wiggle off the hook.

Seyer didn't bother trying to protect the plate on Hanback's next pitch.

Instead, he took Hanback's offering and hit a moon shot to center field for a grand slam.

"I was just trying to hit the ball, believe it or not," Caleb Seyer said. "I've been struggling a little bit lately."

He rounded the bases and was greeted by his teammates at home, who proceeded to pound on his helmet and offer congratulatory slaps on the back. Seyer didn't bother smiling as he headed back to the dugout with his teammates.

His cousin Chase could relax heading out for the seventh with a five-run cushion.

"I can't say enough about how much it helps," Chase Seyer said. "It's like a big breath of fresh air."

Chase Seyer took care of business in the seventh after allowing a leadoff single. He sandwiched a walk between a pair of strikeouts then got Steger to pop out to earn the victory.

"He threw the ball well," Horman said of Chase Seyer. "He had a good fastball. He moved it around."

Hanback finished with four strikeouts and walked five. He allowed his first hit with two outs in the third.

Oran improved to 16-4 overall while Chaffee dropped to 14-9.

Chaffee 000 300 0 -- 3 3 2

Oran 003 104 x -- 8 6 2

WP -- Chase Seyer, 3-1. LP -- Chris Hanback. 2B -- Kody Campbell (O), Adam Uhrhan (C), Tyler Beardslee (O). HR -- Tyler Beardslee (O), Trenton Horman (C), Caleb Seyer (O). Multiple hits -- Oran, Tyler Beardslee 2-4. Records -- Oran 16-4, Chaffee 14-9.