A high school baseball game in Oregon took on the tone of a 1960s MLB classic on Monday when a 16-inning thriller eventually came down to a single run … and that was the only run of the game.
As reported by Oregon Live, the Canby (Ore.) High Cougars edged past Lake Oswego (Ore.) High in 16 innings on Monday by a final score of 1-0. The game featured an astonishing amount of effective defense, with the two teams combining for just one out and three walks across more than two full regulation games worth of baseball.
"It was definitely a confidence builder," Canby coach J.J. Stolsig told Oregon Live. "At the same time, we're trying to teach them that one game isn't going to make or break your season. But it definitely helps to come out on top in this case."
As one might expect for such a clean game, both starting pitchers put forth herculean efforts. Canby ace Kris Koskela and Lake Oswego star Will Waterman both pitched 11 shutout innings, with Koskela notching the lion's share of the Cougars' impressive 21 strikeout haul.
The winning run that eventually crossed came with one out in the bottom of the 16th, when a single scored Canby's Mike Caruso from second base.
While the 16-inning affair isn't believed to be the longest game in prep history -- no official record for such a mark was recorded in the NFHS baseball record book -- the game bore some striking similarities to the longest shutout streak in a single MLB game. That matchup, a 1968 face-off between the New York Mets and Houston Astros, lasted an astounding 23 innings before the Astros eventually escaped with a 1-0 victory in the bottom of the 24th.
Whether or not the Cougars can fare better than the Astros after Houston's historic win -- the 1968 Astros finished 10th in the National League, just behind the Mets -- remains to be seen. In the meantime, both teams will look for a way to move on from the longest game either could remember.
"We're OK, but we have a long ways to go," Stolsig told Oregon Live.
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