PORT ANGELES — Jason Dicochea broke open a tight pitchers’ duel with a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to help hand the Lefties a 3-1 win over the Yakima Valley Pippins.
It was Dicochea’s fourth home run of the year. All of the Lefties’ runs in Friday night’s game were scored via home runs. Port Angeles also got a fourth-inning solo shot from Dalton Harum, his fifth of the year, and the Lefties have now hit a league-leading 36 home runs in 31 games. No other West Coast League team has hit more than 20.
Justin VanDebrake went 2 for 4 and scored a run on Dicochea’s home run, while Drew Minter and Trevor Rosenberg also had singles in the win.
On the mound, the Lefties’ Tyler Oldenberg and Triston Busse both pitched outstanding games. Oldenberg started and pitched more than well enough to win, going six innings and giving up five hits and one earned run, while walking three and striking out four.
Busse came in to the game in the seventh and pitched a scoreless three innings, striking out two and walking two while giving up two hits. Busse picked up the win, his league-leading fourth win of the year and his third win in a week, and lowered his ERA to 1.33 in 24 innings pitched.
Chase Farrell pitched a solid game for Yakima Valley, going seven innings and giving up four hits and one earned run while striking out 12 Lefties. The Pippins’ Lucas Juarez gave up the home run to Dicochea and took the loss in relief.
The win puts the Lefties at 3-1 in the second half of the WCL. They played Yakima Valley Saturday after press deadline, then finish up their series with the Pippins at 1:05 p.m. today.
NOTES: The Lefties’ Harum and Kyle Schimpf are both tied for second in the WCL with five home runs each, while Dicochea is tied for third in the league with four home runs. Busse is third in the league in ERA.
Lefties 3, Pippins 1
Pippins 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 7 0
Lefties 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 x — 3 6 1
WP: Busse LP: Jaurez
Pitching
Pippins — Farrell 7IP, 4H, ER; Jaurez 1IP, 2H, 2ER, K.
Lefties — Oldenberg 6IP, 5H, ER, 3BB, 4K; Busse 3IP, 2H, 2BB, 2K.
Hitting
Pippins — Greene 2-4, 2B, R; Dean 2-4, 2B, RBI; Pofek 1-3, Cerny 1-4, 2B.
Lefties — Cicochea 1-4, HR, R, 2RBIs; Harum 1-3, HR, R, RBI; VanDebrake 2-4 R; Minter 1-2, HBP; Rosenberg 1-3.
