Blackhawks roll to seventh straight win

Cheney High’s baseball team is on a roll.

The Blackhawks extended their winning streak to seven with four wins last week, including a home doubleheader sweep of East Valley on Senior Day that catapulted them into first place in the Great Northern League standings.

Cheney began with a 3-1 league win over visiting third-place West Valley (3-3, 4-6) last Tuesday, April 16. The Blackhawks tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on a wild pitch by Eagles pitcher Hunter Tiffany, and took the lead for good with Nick Berman’s two-RBI single in the bottom of the sixth.

Cheney managed five hits, including a double by Koby Holt and singles by Peyton McPherson, Luke Martin and Julian Chabot. Chabot got the win on the mound, allowing no earned runs, four hits and two walks while striking out four, stranding five Eagles runners.

Thursday the Blackhawks again found themselves in a pitching duel, this time at fourth-place Clarkston (2-4, 7-5). Cheney took an early 1-0 lead on Martin’s RBI single scoring Nick Berman, and stretched it to 3-0 in the third on Holt’s sacrifice fly to right scoring Jake Berman and Chabot’s RBI double scoring Nick Berman.

After Clarkston rallied with two in the bottom of the fifth, the Blackhawks got the eventual game winner on Devin Cook’s groundout to short, scoring Chabot. Cheney managed nine hits, with Martin going 2 for 4 and Holt and Chabot each 2 for 3.

McPherson got the win, giving up three runs — two earned — on nine hits while walking two and striking out three. Cook came on in the seventh and retired the side.

Cheney had a fairly easy time against winless East Valley on Saturday. Chabot pitched a two-hit shutout for the 9-0 game one win, striking out six and walking none in running his season record to 5-1.

Cheney took an early 2-0 lead on Nick Berman’s two-RBI double in the first, and provided insurance with six runs in the third, getting RBI hits from Martin (double), Kyle Peabody, Cook, Jake Berman and Holt. Martin was 2 for 2 at the plate to lead the Blackhawks eight-hit attack.

Cheney wasted little time in game two, striking quickly in the bottom of the first. The Blackhawks got an RBI single from Martin, an RBI double by Nick Berman, a two-RBI singles by Elliot Winters and Chabot to take a 6-1 lead en route to the 12-4 win.

Chabot and Nick Berman were both 3 for 3 with three RBIs to lead Cheney’s 10-hit offense, with Martin going 3 for 2. Senior Rory Schuller got the win on the mound, going three innings and giving up one earned run on five hits while striking out one and walking none. Winters, Peter Richardson, Nick Berman and Cook all saw work on the mound, with Cook going two innings to finish the game.

Cheney moves to 5-1 in GNL play, 9-1 overall. The Blackhawks are one-half game ahead of Pullman (4-1, 12-3) with key dates against Clarkston (April 23) and a road doubleheader with the Greyhounds Saturday, April 27.

Cheney finishes its regular-season schedule Monday, April 29, with a non-league game at Big Nine Conference 4A Sunnyside (0-12, 0-13).

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].