LONGVIEW — The Lefties had the bases loaded with no outs in the ninth inning against Cowlitz, but they couldn’t break through for a game-tying or go-ahead run as Port Angeles began a long road trip, losing a close one 5-4 against the Black Bears.
Lefties starting pitcher Wyatt Haccou (3-1) picked up his first loss of the season as Port Angeles played the first of nine games on the road Friday.
The Lefties’ Alex Junior had three hits in the game (and six hits in his past two games), raising his average to .444. Kieran Shaw pitched four outstanding innings in relief to keep it close, giving up just one hit and walking one batter.
In a Thursday night game at Civic Field, the Lefties erupted for 11 runs in the sixth inning to beat Bend 13-9.
In Friday’s game, the Lefties got up 3-2 in the second inning. Seth Freed drove in two runs with a double and Austyn Tengan, batting .397, hit a single to bring in Freed as the Lefties took the lead.
Port Angeles gave the lead up in the fifth as Cowlitz responded with three runs to make it 5-3. The Lefties got a run back in the seventh when Kevin Kendall walked, took second with a stolen base and went to third on a Junior single. He then was able to score on a fielder’s choice to make it 5-4. But with runners on first and third, the Lefties’ Brody Kato struck out to end the inning.
The Lefties made the Black Bears sweat in the ninth. Kendall began the rally with a single, followed by singles by Kato and Junior to load up the bases.
Kendall was out at home on a Jake Portaro groundout, then the Black Bears were able to get Sean Roby to hit into a double play to end the game.
Portaro had a double in the game.
The Lefties (9-12) played the Black Bears after press deadline Saturday evening. They play Cowlitz again at 5:05 p.m. Sunday.
Cowlitz 5, Port Angeles 4
Lefties 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 — 4 10 2
Bears 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 X — 5 7 1
WP: Bird LP: Haccou
Pitching
Lefties — Haccou 4IP, 6H, 5ER, BB, K; Shaw 4IP, 1H, 0ER, BB, K.
Bears — Bird 6IP, 5H, 3ER, BB, 2K; Fouse 2IP, 2H, 1ER, 3BB, 2K; Ballie 1IP, 3H.
Hitting
Lefties — Junior 3-5, Tengan 103, RBI; Portaro 1-5, 2B, RBI; Freed 1-4, 2B, R, 2RBI; Kendall 1-1, R, BB.
Bears — Valenzuela 2-3, Nygaard 1-2, HR, 2R, 2RBI; Quiggle 1-4, RBI; Voss 1-2, RBI, BB.
Port Angeles 13, Bend 9
PORT ANGELES — The Lefties fell behind 4-0 early but exploded for 11 runs in the sixth inning — their biggest inning of the year — to win going away 13-9.
The Lefties had nine hits, three walks and were helped by an error in the sixth as the Elks simply could not stop the bleeding. They finished the game with 15 hits total. Brody Kato had a double and a single and three RBIs in the sixth, while Alex Junior also had two hits in the inning and Kevin Kendall had a walk and a hit.
Junior finished the game 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Kato was 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs. Roby had a double with two RBIs, while Taylor Adams hit a solo home run. Kendall ended the game 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBIs and a walk and Jake Portaro had two hits.
Mitchell Hagan pitched two innings of relief, giving up one run in the sixth and the seventh to pick up the win.
Notes
The Lefties’ Austyn Tengan is third in the West Coast League with a .397 batting average. Alex Junior went 6-for-10 over the past two games, raising his average from .353 to .444. That would be second-best in the WCL, but Junior does not have enough at-bats to qualify yet. The Lefties’ Keiran Shaw is third in the WCL for earned run average at 1.42. Nick Bonniksen is fourth in the WLC in ERA at 1.47.
Port Angeles 13, Bend 9
Elks 0 0 0 4 0 2 2 3 0 — 9 12 3
Lefties 0 0 0 0 0 (11) 1 1 x — 13 15 2
WP: Hagan LP: Ragsdale
Pitching
Elks — Larson 5IP, 2H, 0ER, BB, 3K; Ragsdale 0.1IP, 5H, 4ER, 3BB; Schuler 1.2IP, 5, 1ER, 2K; Kirk 0.2IP, 2H, ER; Rivera 0.1IP, H, K.
Lefties — Hooper 4IP, 8H, 4ER, 6K, BB; Smith 1IP, 0H, 0ER; Hagan 2IP, 2H, ER, BB, 3K; Johnston 1IP, 2H, 3ER, BB, K; Suddreth 1IP, 0ER, K.
Hitting
Elks — Chapman 3-5, R; Clayton 2-4, 2R, RBI; Runge 1-5, HR, R, 3RBI; McLaughlin 2-4, R, RBI, Maxwell 1-3, 2R, 2BB.
Lefties — Junior 3-5, 2R, RBI, SB; Kato, 3-5, 2 2B, 2R, 4RBI, SB; Adams 2-4, HR, 2R, RBI; Adams 2-4, 2R, RBI; Kendall 1-3, 2R, 2RBI, BB, Roby 1-5, 2B, R, 2RBI; Portaro 2-4, BB; Freed 1-1, 2B, R.
