Lobos double Sweets on hits, runs

The WCL Portland team knocks out 12 hits to Walla Walla's six in the 4-2 victory.

Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Advertisement

photo

Jeff Horner

Sweets pitcher Cory Mack delivers a Mack Attack with a strike against visiting Portland Tuesday night. Ju

photo

Jeff Horner

Walla Walla Sweets second baseman Kalani Brackenridge keeps the ball in front of him as he makes a diving first inning stop that holds the Portland base runner at first. Brackenrige's diving effort couldn't pull off the win, though, as Portland downed the Sweets 4-2.

photo

Jeff Horner

Sweets catcher Kevin Hawk hands the out — literally — to Portland's Michael Hopp with a bare-handed tag to Hopp's trailing foot for the third out at the top of the fourth inning Tuesday night.

photo

Jeff Horner

Kevin Hawk shows the prize to the umpire as he held on for the bare-handed tag.

photo

Jeff Horner

Portland's Hopp agonizes over the close out at home on the tag by Hawk to finish the top of the fourth inning Tuesday night. Even with Hawk's diving effort, Walla Walla came up on the short end of the score, losing 4-2 to the Lobos.

photo

Jeff Horner

Walla Walla's Kalani Brackenridge lost his hat and the ball but kept his cool to recover and get the start of the double play going with the toss to first base and the finish to second. The double play was the first two outs of the top of the fourth inning Tuesday night against the Portland Lobos.

WALLA WALLA - The visiting Portland Lobos doubled the Walla Walla Sweets in the two most important offensive categories Tuesday night during West Coast League baseball action at Borleske Stadium.

Hits and runs.

Portland outhit the Sweets 12-6 and, more importantly, outscored them 4-2 thanks to two-run rallies in the first and seventh innings.

The Lobos - one of six teams in WCL Portland - got eight solid innings and five strikeouts from starting pitcher Chad Fahey. He had Walla Walla shut out on four hits and did not allow a Sweets batter to reach third base through the first seven frames.

"He was very good through seven," Portland manager Kevin Kopple said. "He comes at you and throws strikes. He had a real good fastball and slider early. He did a good job of challenging guys."

"He threw very well," Walla Walla manager J.C. Biagi agreed. "He had his cutter working. He forces you to put the ball in play."

Carl Beckert and Ryan Layson produced RBI singles in Portland's two-run first inning.

Beckert registered an RBI single to highlight the Lobos' two-run seventh.

The Sweets scored their two runs in the eighth. Kevin Hawk led off with a base on balls and moved to second base on a Nick Gentili single to center field.

Hawk and Gentili advanced to third and second, respectively, on an infield grounder hit by Andrew Mendenhall.

Kalani Brackenridge scored Hawk with a sacrifice fly to center and Zach Wentz brought Gentili in with a single to right.

Portland closer Ben Higgins retired the Sweets 1-2-3 in the ninth inning to notch the save. Chance Kopacz grounded to shortstop, James Campbell grounded out to third, and Scott Gottschling struck out.

"We were a little sloppy," Biagi said. "They came ready to play and we didn't."

The teams wrap up their two-game series at 7:05 tonight.

Lobos 4, Sweets 2

Lobos 200 000 200 - 4 12 0

Sweets 000 000 020 - 2 6 1

Fahey, Higgins (9) and Abel. Mack, Peterson (5), Santschi (8) and Hawk.

HR - none.

Hits - Lobos: Greenstein 2, Clifford 2, Beckert 2, Layson 2, Hopp 2, Snowley 2. Sweets: Kopacz, Williams, Hawk, Mendenhall, Gentili, Wentz.

Attend. - 1,606.

More like this story

Comments

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Sign in to comment

    Walla Walla
  • 58°



Advertisement