PORT ANGELES — The Lefties didn’t want to end their West Coast League season Sunday.
And they weren’t able to quite recapture the magic from last season’s final league game, when they ended their season with a walk-off victory.
After struggling against the South Division champs Portland in the first two games of their final three-game homestand this weekend, the Lefties rose up Sunday to force the Pickles to go to 11 innings. In the end, a bases-loaded groundout in the bottom of the 11th inning was the difference for the Pickles in a 5-4 win over the Lefties.
The Lefties also lost 12-1 Friday night against the Pickles.
That tough loss didn’t stop the Lefties from getting off to a fast start Sunday. The Lefties got a three-run home run from home favorite Ron Brown in the first inning to open up a three-run lead in the first inning.
The Pickles came right back with three runs in the top of the second inning, with a lot of help from a two-run single by Daniel Lopez, who killed the Lefties all season.
The game remained tied at 3-3 as Lefties’ hurler Avery Santos settled in, not allowing any more runs through six innings.
Portland’s Noah Cardenas broke the tie in the eighth inning witha solo home run off Tristan Busse, who had come in to relieve in the seventh.
But, the Lefties didn’t go down without a fight, rallying in the bottom of the eighth to tie it. Brown again started the damage by getting on base with a single. Tristian Hanaoian drove him in with a double to make it 4-4.
The ninth was uneventul, but in the 10th, the Lefties got the winning run on third base, again in the form of Brown, who had got on base with a walk. He moved to third base on a couple of wild pitches, but this time Hanoian couldn’t bring him in, striking out to end the inning.
In the 11th, Portland got a single from Sam Novitske. The Pickles eventually loaded the bases and were able to score on a groundout.
Another big thorn in the side for the Lefties was the Pickles’ Brody Barnum. He hit three home runs on Friday and Saturday, but on Sunday, he did the damage from the mound. He pitched the bottom of the 11th and struck out all three Lefties that he faced to end the game.
Jason Dicochea had two hits in the game, going 2 for 4 to finish the regular season with an outstanding batting average of .336. Brown was 2 for 4 with his home run, two runs and three RBIs. Hanoian was 1 for 3 with a double, an RBI and two walks.
Saturday’s loss
In Saturday’s 12-1 loss against Portland, the Pickles erupted for three home runs, including Brody Barnum and Daniel Lopez, who really seem to like the Civic Field confines.
Barnum, who belted two home runs Friday, hit another homer Saturday, while Lopez, who hit a home run during the All-Star Game held last month at Civic Field, hit a four-bagger as well. Davis Delorefice also hit a home run for the Pickles.
Lopez also hit a double and ended up with three RBIs, while Barnum, Delorefice and Jace McKinney all drove in two runs.
The Lefties only managed four hits against four Portland pitchers. Ronnie Rust, Jason Dicochea, Alex Jemal and Christopher Schateen all had singles..
The season is not over, however, for people who want to catch one last Lefties’ game. The Lefties (9-18 second second, 21-33 overall) have one game left at Civic Field. They will play the Highline Bears, a semipro and collegiate team out of Seattle, at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday for a nonleague contest.
Pickles 5, Lefties 4, 11 innings
Pickles 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 — 5 14 1
Lefties 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 4 8 2
WP: Sylk LP: Busse SV: Barnum
Pitching
Pickles — McVay 4IP, 3ER, 2BB, 6K; Pellerin 4IP, 3H, 2BB; Walker 1IP, 2K; Sylk 1IP, H, 2BB, 2K; Barnum 1IP, 3K.
Lefties — Santos 6IP, 9H, 3ER, 2BB, 4K; Busse 5IP, 5H, 2ER, BB, 4K.
Hitting
Pickles — Perez 3-4, 2B, R; Barnum 2-6, R, 2RBI; Cardenas 3-5, HR, 2R, RBI, BB; Lopez 2-5, 2RBI.
Lefties — Brown 2-4, HR, 2R, 3RBI, Dicochea 2-4, R; Morgan 2-5, R; Hanoian 1-3, 2B, RBI, 2BB.
Pickles 12, Lefties 1
Saturday night game
Pickles 0 5 0 2 0 1 2 2 0 — 12 11 3
Lefties 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 — 1 4 2
WP: Newstrom LP: Brown
Pitching
Pickles — Roth 3IP, 3BB, 4K; Newstrom 3IP, 3BB, 6K; Wyatt 0.2IP, 3BB, K; Davenport 2.1IP, H, 0BB, 4K.
Lefties — Brown 3.2IP, 6H, 7ER, 4BB, 6K; Busse 0.1IP, H; Falco 3IP, 3H, 3ER, 2BB, K; Haugen 2IP, H, 2BB, 2K.
Hitting
Pickles — Barnum 2-6, HR, R, RBI; McKinney 3-4, 3R, 2RBI, 2BB, K; Delorefice 2-5, HR, R, RBI; Lopez 2-3, HR, 2B, 3R, 3RBI; Perez 1-5, R, RBI.
Lefties — Dicochea 1-3, Schateen 1-5; Jemal 1-1, R, BB, SB; Rust 1-3.
