By Joe Traub
Port Angeles Lefties
LONGVIEW — The Port Angeles Lefties surrendered two runs before recording an out in the first inning Saturday, an inning that foreshadowed how their evening would end up.
The Cowlitz Black Bears used a balanced attack to beat the Lefties 8-4 at Story Field in Cowlitz.
The Lefties’ Dwayne Angebrandt suffered through a rare poor outing on the mound, giving up four runs in 3 2/3 innings. After Ryan Kim singled home two runs in the first inning, he hit a solo homer in the third to extend Cowlitz’s lead. Seth Beckstead then led off the fourth inning with a home run to make it 4-0.
Meanwhile, Alex Salazar was literally untouchable on the mound for the Black Bears. The right-hander was perfect through four innings while striking out seven batters. C.J. Schauwecker broke up the combined perfect game bid with a single after Cowlitz went to the bullpen in the fifth inning.
Trailing 5-0 into the sixth, the Lefties scratched out a pair of two-out runs. Matt Christian reached on an error to plate Nick DiPonzio, who had walked and moved to third on a Justin Fugitt single. Schauwecker then singled in Fugitt.
The Black Bears tacked on three more in the seventh before Zander Marco came off the bench for a pinch-hit, two-run single in the ninth inning for the final scores of 8-4. The Lefties managed six hits in the contest, two coming from Schauwecker. They struck out 18 times.
Port Angeles (14-16, 10-15 WCL) played Sunday in Longview, looking to avoid a sweep. The Lefties return to Port Angeles on Monday, beginning a four-game homestand against three-time defending champion Corvallis at 6:35 p.m. today.
Bears 8, Lefties 4
Lefties 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 — 4 6 4
Cowlitz 2 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 x — 8 8 1
WP: Rutherford LP: Angebrandt
Pitching
Lefties — Angebradt 3.2IP, 4ER, 2BB, 4K; Hamrick 1.1IP, 0H, ER, 2BB, 2K; Thomspon 0.2IP, H, 0ER, BB; A. Chavez 0.2IP, 2H, 3ER, 3BB; J. Chavez 1.2IP, 0H, 0ER, 2K.
Bears — Salazer 4IP, 0H, 0ER, 7K ; Rutherford 4IP, 4H, 0ER, BB, 8K; Smith 1IP, 2H, 2ER, 3K.
Hitting
Lefties — Marco 1-1, 2RBI; Schauwecker 1-3, RBI; Fugitt 1-4, R; Berry 1-1, R.
Bears — Kim 2-3, HR, 2R, 3RBI, 3SB; Beckstead 2-4, 2R, RBI; Bell 1-2, R, RBI, 2SB, 3BB.
