By Thomas Johnson
Port Angeles Lefties
KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Port Angeles broke through in a big way to take the road series against Kamloops on Thursday.
The Lefties had a season high in hits, a season high in extra-base hits and a WCL high in runs scored to beat the NorthPaws 14-7.
Every member of the Port Angeles starting lineup notched a base hit as the Lefties put on their most complete offensive performance of league play.
Port Angeles won two games in a row for the first time since June 11-12 at Walla Walla, the last time the Lefties had won a series before their most recent road trip.
It was a seven-run fourth inning — the second time the Lefties have notched that run total in one frame this season — that put Port Angeles over the top.
The Lefties sent 13 hitters to the plate, put up eight hits and forced two mid-inning pitching changes.
Kosei Suzuki was the star of the game with four hits — a homer and a double — and got Port Angeles started, scoring the first run of the affair in the second inning.
Port Angeles hosts Kamloops tonight at 6:35 p.m.
After slugging 13 four-baggers as a freshman at Frank Phillips, Suzuki broke his homerless stretch with a fifth-inning shot that gave his side a 10-run lead at the time.
Suzuki raised his average by 25 points with his four knocks — a single-game season high for any Port Angeles hitter — to move into sole possession of third place on the team in total hits. His three runs also tied a single-game season high for the Lefties, last done on June 9.
The Japanese outfielder was not the only one who had his first homer of the season, as Jason Leon (Cal State Bakersfield) and Zach Blair (Mount Hood Community College) both had bombs of their own. Roberto Garza-Nunez (Embry-Riddle University) also had a blast, his first in league play, but already had one on the season in non-league play.
Garza-Nunez has really found his stroke as of late, raising his batting average up to .270 with hits in eight of his last nine games. During that nine-game stretch, the second baseman has four multi-hit games and has totalled six RBI, three of which came Thursday night.
Seven Port Angeles batters had multiple hits, but Yahir Ramirez (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) and Ethan Kodoma (UC Berkeley) came out on top of the fray with a trio of knocks to their names.
It was Ramirez’s second straight game with multiple hits as he’s currently riding a three-game hit streak, tying a personal season high.
Kodoma, on the other hand, has been tearing it up these past three weeks. The center fielder has raised his batting average by over 170 points since June 20, with seven multi-hit games in that span. Kodoma is currently riding a 13-game on-base streak.
Port Angeles (8-24) continues its home series with Kamloops tonight at 6:35 p.m.
