Sandy baseball’s ‘gunslinger’ Brayden Sievertsen retires seven in Nelson win

Published 7:45 pm Friday, April 18, 2025

Senior ace Brayden Sievertsen was flinging fire from the mount; senior speedster Kobe Sparks’ double play was the cherry on top of yet another stellar shut-out defensive showcase; and senior slugger Cooper Hibbs smashed one over the fence.

All of this came during the latest stunner by Sandy baseball, who swept a talented Nelson squad 4-0 and 7-0 Thursday and Friday, April 17-18, in Mt. Hood Conference play.

For the Pioneers (10-2, 4-0 League), in that second win, Hibbs had that home run and scored a pair of runs; Sparks had 2 runs and an RBI; junior Carter Boyes hit a double and had an RBI; and pitcher Sievertsen had 7 strikeouts (six innings).

Friday’s victory over Nelson (7-6, 0-4 League) was an impressive showing by the whole Sandy squad. The Pioneers leapt out to an early 5-0 lead after two innings, and defensively they never let the Hawks back into the contest. Sievertsen nearly made it the distance, retiring a pair of batters in the sixth inning, with junior reliever Kamden Luebbert calmly wrapping things up in the final frame.