KLAMATH FALLS, Ore – They say the hardest out to get in baseball is the last one, and that was certainly the case on Tuesday as the Henley Hornets (28-2) fell to the Marist Catholic Spartans (20-9) in the semifinals 7-6.
Henley led 6-3 with two outs in the seventh inning, but a pair of singles from Niko Lebya and Tanner Mullens and a three-run homerun from Peyton Tyner tied the game. Marist would add one more run in the eighth with another two-out rally, ending with a Stephen Riley RBI single.
Henley built their initial lead by scoring four runs in the first inning. Connor Shively blasted his first homerun of the season, and then Mark Carpenter and Beau Pyle recorded back-to-back triples to extend the early advantage. Henley added one more run in the second inning, then was held quiet until the sixth.
Drew Wooten started the game for Marist but was replaced in the fourth by Raith Huffman, who quieted Henley’s state-best offense for three innings, only allowing one run in the sixth inning. Gianni Lombardi collected the win, working the last two innings allowing two hits and no runs while striking out one. Beau Pyle got the start for Henley and pitched 7.2 innings allowing seven hits, seven runs, and struck out three batters.
Offensively for Henley, Mark Carpenter led the team with three RBI on a 3-5 day. Aiden Hayes and Connor Shively also recorded three hits each. Shively added one RBI, as did Beau Pyle and Lane Frank.
For Marist, Peyton Tyner was the hero going 2-3 with six RBI including the three run game tying homerun in the seventh. Niko Lebya was 3-5 and scored three runs. Robbie Harden was the only other Spartan with multiple hits turning in a 2-4 performance. Stephen Riley knocked in the game-winning run in the eighth.
Henley’s season is over. The Hornets won 28 games in 2024, tied for the second most in program history. The previous 28-win Henley team was the State Championship-winning 2005 squad led by coach Joe Tacchini. Henley won that championship over Mazama. Henley won 29 games twice on their way to State Championships in 2014 and 2016.
Marist is making their first State Championship appearance since 1984 and are still in the hunt for their first crown. Marist dropped the title game in 1984 to Rogue River, and were handed another loss in the 1981 Championship by Henley at Kiger Stadium. The 2024 4A Championship will be played in Keizer at Volcanoes Stadium at 7:00 p.m. on June 1st.
Henley is graduating six seniors, Luke Austin, Aiden Hayes, Payton Price, Lane Frank, Owen Harper, and Thomas Bocchi. Henley High School graduation is June 8th at the Klamath County Fairgrounds.
Full video replays for every Henley baseball game of the 2024 season are available on mybasin.com/watch.
