By Joe Traub
For Peninsula Daily News
RIDGEFIELD — The situation looked bleak for the Port Angeles Lefties through six innings on Friday night. A six-run third inning for the Ridgefield Raptors put the West Coast League’s newest team on top of the Lefties 9-3 after six innings. But Port Angeles was undeterred, scoring seven runs over the final three innings for a wild 12-10 comeback victory.
The six-run comeback was the largest deficit the Lefties have overcome to win a game in the franchise’s three-season history.
Everything changed when Eli Schubert took the mound for Ridgefield to start the seventh inning. Port Angeles’ Alex Garcia and C.J. Schauwecker started the inning by drawing walks, then Ethan Groff singled to bring in Garcia. After two outs, Nick DiPonzio delivered a clutch two-run single up the middle to cut the Port Angeles deficit to 9-6.
Pinch-hitter Dylan Cyr then stood in and delivered just his second hit of the season, an opposite-field two-run home run blast off the scoreboard in left-center field to make it a 9-8 game. The Lefties reloaded the bases with two outs but left all three stranded.
After a quick bottom of the seventh, Groff doubled to lead off the eighth for his fourth hit of the night. Ridgefield turned to Spencer Andersen, and the Lefties were able to get to him as well. Damiano Palmegiani doubled high off the wall in left field to bring in Groff and tie the game at 9. DiPonzio then singled home Palmegiani for a 10-9 Port Angeles lead.
The see-saw battle continued when Michael Hicks blasted a solo home run off Frankie Scalzo to again tie the contest in the bottom of the eighth.
But the tie would not last long. After two quick outs in the top of the ninth inning, Schauwecker doubled down the left-field line and Groff was intentionally walked. Connor Denning then drove a double to the gap in right-center field, plating both runners and the Lefties led 12-10.
Scalzo sailed through the bottom of the ninth, allowing just a two-out single as he picked up his second save of the season.
The Lefties (8-5, 6-4 WCL) snapped a two-game losing streak with the victory.
Port Angeles and Ridgefield played late Saturday, and will wrap the three-game set today at 3:05 p.m.
Joe Traub will have the call on Facebook live.
Port Angeles 12, Ridgefield 10
PA 0 1 2 0 0 0 5 2 2 — 12 11 4
Ridge 0 1 6 2 0 0 0 1 0 — 10 9 0
WP: Scalzo LP: Lidd
Pitching
Port Angeles — Moeller 3IP, 5H, 7R, 2ER, 3BB, 3K; Fitch 4IP, 2H, 2ER, 4BB, K; Scalzo 2IP, 2H, ER, 2K.
Ridgefield — Clough 6IP, 2H, 3ER, 6BB, 3K; Schubert 0.2IP, 3H, 5ER, 3BB, K; Andersen 0.1IP, 2H, ER, BB; Lidd 2IP, 4H, 3ER, BB, 2K.
Hitting
Port Angeles — Groff 3-4, BB, 2 2B, 4R, RBI; Cyr 1-2, HR, R, 2RBI; Denning 1-2, 2RBI; DiPonzio 2-5 R, RBI; Schauwecker 1-2, 2B, R; Bielamowicz 1-3, R, 2RBI
Ridgefield — Ramirez 1-3, HR, 2 BB, 2R, RBI; Hicks 2-5, HR, 2R, RBI; Repetti 1-5, 2B, 2RBI; Weaver 3-5, 2B, HR, 2R, 3RBI; Yourg 1-4, 2RBIs.
Lefties drop series
The Lefties lost their series finale to the Wenatchee AppleSox by a final score of 8–3 Thursday night as Port Angeles dropped consecutive games for the first time this season. Wenatchee claimed the series as well, by winning the final two games in the three-game series.
Port Angeles had myriad scoring chances in the first four innings but only scored two runs as they stranded 10 runners on base. Damiano Palmegiani and Ronnie Rust delivered RBI singles, but the bases were left loaded in the fourth and eighth innings.
Kyle Hamrick suffered through a tough start on the mound for the Lefties, giving up three runs on seven hits in just 2.2 innings. Baxter Halligan relieved Hamrick for his first pitching appearance of the 2019 season and pitched well, giving up just two runs in 4.1 innings.
The AppleSox led just 4–2 at the stretch but extended their lead on Cole McKenzie’s leadoff homer in the seventh and then plated three unearned runs off Carter Loewen in the eighth inning.
Wenatchee 8, Port Angeles 3
PA 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 — 3 12 2
Wenatchee1 0 2 1 0 0 1 3 X — 8 13 1
WP: Kuykendall LP: Hamrick
Pitching
Port Angeles — Hamrick 2.2IP, 7H, 3ER, BB, K; Halligan 4.1IP, 5H, 2ER, BB, 2K; Loewen IP, H, 3R, BB.
Wenatchee — Kulak 3.2IP, 6H, 2R, ER, 5BB, 3K; Kuykendall 3.1IP, 3H, 4K; Schirer 2IP, 3H, ER, 2K.
Hitting
Port Angeles — Marco 2-4, BB; Rosenberg 1-3, SB, R, 2BB; Rust 2-5; Palmegiani 2-3; DiPonzio 1-1, R, HR, RBI.
Wenatchee — Sellers 3-4, 3R, RBI; McKenzie 3-5, HR, 2R, 2RBI; Detloff 2-5, 2B, 2R; Klassen 1-1, 2B.
