Staff photo by E.J. Harris Hermiston's Daniel Gossler throws the ball to first base in the Bulldogs' 3-1 loss to Milwaukie on Friday in Hermiston.

HERMISTON — The Hermiston Bulldogs spent the first 24 games of the season trying to solve the puzzle that is their offense.

The Bulldogs averaged just over four runs per game this season, and scored more than five runs just five times as the team worked hard for but struggled to find a consistent approach and attack that could lead to more runs.

In their 25th and final game, the Bulldogs still were not able to find that missing piece as they fell to the Milwaukie Mustangs 3-1 in a 5A Play-in game on Friday at Armand Larive Middle School. Hermiston coach Lance Hawkins said after the game that he’s sad to see this group of kids’ season come to an end.

“I told the boys I’ve never had a bunch that’s worked so hard and worked so together as a team,” Hawkins said. “Everybody gets along here and it’s been a real pleasure to coach them. I enjoy these guys and every year it’s tough, but this is a special bunch and I mean it.

“They are dandies at practice, and it’s a fun bunch, but I want to be fun and win.”

The postgame huddle was filled with plenty of emotion and tears from many of the underclassmen and the four seniors that played their final game as Bulldogs. Seeing that emotion is something Hawkins said he is all too familiar with, having seen many of his teams have their seasons end before they believe they should.

“I tell them all the time I wish I could bottle that emotion up and have them drink it the first of March to know that feeling and keep that drive to where they don’t want to lose,” Hawkins said.

Hermiston (13-12) was stifled at the plate by Milwaukie pitcher Bradley McVay — a University of Portland commit — through his six innings on the mound, only mustering two hits against him and three total for the game. McVay came at Hermiston with a heavy diet of fastballs, but kept them off balance with perfectly timed breaking balls. The Bulldogs did not register their first hit until R.J. Robles crushed an opposite-field double over the head of the left fielder in the bottom of the fifth inning.

“(McVay) wasn’t doing anything special, he threw well but we weren’t selective enough at the plate,” Hermiston’s Tyler Sexton said. “We didn’t look for our pitch, we were swinging at stuff in the dirt. We had prepared all week but come game time we just couldn’t put them into play.”

Perhaps the game could have played out differently for Hermiston had they cashed in on some early opportunities, mainly the bases loaded situation in the first inning. Robles had reached on a dropped third strike and following a sacrifice bunt from Chase Root a fly ball out from Daniel Gossler, back-to-back walks by Sexton and Hayden Edmiston loaded the bases. But the threat ended when McVay caught Lukas Tolan looking on strike three.

“For a team that doesn’t score a lot of runs, that’s a killer,” Hawkins said.

To combat the slow offense all year, the Bulldogs were always fortunate to have solid pitching and that was the case for the most part on Friday. Robles — recently named the CRC Pitcher of the Year — was stellar through the first three innings for Hermiston, allowing just one hit and one walk with three strikeouts to help keep the game scoreless. But in the fourth inning, Robles gave up a lead-off single and then hit a batter to start the frame, and a fly ball out to right field advanced the runner to third base with only one out.

The Mustangs then used that opportunity to be aggressive at the plate as Chase Anderson put down a successful safety squeeze bunt to score the run from third for a 1-0 Mustangs lead. The Mustangs got things going against Robles again in the sixth inning after back-to-back walks, and then caught a huge break when Robles fielded a bunt attempt and then threw the ball wide of first base which rolled all the way down the right field line to score both runners for the 3-0 lead.

In the seventh inning with their backs against the wall, Hermiston was able to show some life. Slade Gritz led off the inning with a single to right field, and then a two-out single from Robles put runners on the corners. Gritz would score a few pitches later on a passed ball by the catcher, but Root finished off the game with a strikeout for out No. 3.

As Hermiston now begins the process of building towards next season, Hawkins and the rest of his coaching staff believe that the search for offensive consistency starts with the building of an indoor hitting facility — something he says he has been trying to secure for a while now.

“Every 5A school that I know of has a place to hit year-round and my boys have to start in January hitting inside of a gym with whiffle balls and it shows,” Hawkins said. “We have to come together as a community and we need to get some stuff done so we can get our program on the same level. It’s something in the offseason I’m really going to have to go after.”

Until then, Hawkins and the returning Bulldogs will take a week off before kicking off summer practices by the end of next week. It will mark the turning of the page for the four seniors, but the start of a new page for the returners.

“It stinks for the seniors but the young guys better get going,” Hawkins said, “because they’re going to be in the program for a handful of years and we have greater things we want to do.

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R H E

MHS 000 102 0 — 3 4 1

HHS 000 000 1 — 1 3 4

McVay, Murk (7), and Santos. Robles, Root (6), and Gritz. W — McVay, L — Robles.

2B — Robles (HHS).

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Contact Eric Singer at esinger@eastoregonian.com or (541) 966-0839. Follow him on Twitter @ByEricSinger.