PORT ANGELES — They went down swinging, that’s for certain. Port Angeles enjoyed a stellar night at the plate, collecting 14 hits, but the Lefties’ bid to end the season on a high note was washed away in an 8-6 loss to the Cowlitz Black Bears.
Thursday night’s season finale at Civic Field marked the ninth straight loss for the Lefties (16-38), who were at one point 10-8 in the second-half standings and in contention for a playoff bid until last Saturday.
Port Angeles’ Wyatt Hall was a bright spot during the skid, going 2-for-5 Thursday night with a run to raise his average to .350 while playing in the team’s last six games after recovering from elbow surgery.
Jeremy Giesegh continued his stellar summer with two hits, a walk and a run to raise his WCL-high hit total to 77 and his batting average to .348 for Port Angeles.
Jared Bujanda also had two hits and a run for Port Angeles. Bujanda hit .295 in 17 games with Port Angeles.
Kole Acker, another Port Angeles product, tossed a clean inning in relief for the Lefties.
Kosei Suzuki tripled and scored on Eric Valdivia’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, but Port Angeles couldn’t add to the final tally.
Cowlitz 8, Port Angeles 6
Cowlitz 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 — 8 9 1
PA 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 1—6 14 3
WP: McQuilliams LP: Ricken SV: Castro
Pitching
Cowlitz — Guard 5 IP, 6 H, ER, 2 BB, K; Humphreys IP, 2 H, K; LeJeune IP, 4 H, 4 ER, BB, K; McQuilliams IP, H; Castro IP, H, ER.
Port Angeles — Scheuber 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, BB, K; Schumann 1.2 IP, H, 2K; Hagopian 0.1 IP, 2 BB; Acker IP, K; Ricken IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB; Lopez IP, 2 K.
Hitting
Cowlitz — Nagler 2-4, R, RBI; Neave 2-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI; Bowen 1-4, 2B, RBI; McClendon 1-3, R;
Port Angeles — Giesegh 2-4, BB, R; Bujanda 2-4, BB, R; Suzuki 1-3, BB, 3B, R; Valdivia 2-4, R, 3 RBI; Hall 2-5, R; Vasquez 1-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI; Helm 2-4, RBI.
WCL playoffs
The West Coast League playoffs open tonight with the Bellingham Bells (32-22)facing the Edmonton Riverhawks (32-22).
In a matchup of perennial North powers, the Wenatchee AppleSox (35-19) will battle the Victoria HarbourCats (29-25).
In one South Division series, the eight-time defending WCL champion Corvallis Knights (41-13) will face the Ridgefield Raptors (31-23).
Meanwhile, the Portland Pickles (40-14), who set a team record with 40 wins this season and finished atop the second-half standings, are matched up with the Bend Elks (32-22).
Each matchup is a best-of-three series, with the lower seeds — Bend, Ridgefield, Edmonton and Victoria —hosting their series openers tonight. The series then shift to the higher seed’s home field on Sunday, with potential third games scheduled for Monday.
Following the first round, each division will play a single Divisional Championship Game next Wednesday night.
The winners of those games will advance to the WCL Championship, which is scheduled for next Friday.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladailynews.com.
