PORT ANGELES — The return to the friendly confines of Civic Field couldn’t come at a better time for the Port Angeles Lefties, off to a 1-5 start after a rough road trip in Oregon to open the West Coast League season.
Port Angeles’ home opener is set for 6:35 p.m. tonight at Civic Field. Tickets are available online in advance at https://tickets.paleftiesbaseball.com/ or at the gate.
A dose of hometown hospitality is sure to get things turned around for all involved.
The Lefties couldn’t string together their first winning streak of the summer in a 7-3 loss to Bend on Wednesday at Vince Gemma Stadium.
Port Angeles led 3-0 early, getting two first-inning runs on an Ethan Young sacrifice fly and a wild pitch to score Roberto Nunez.
Choi RBI double
B.Y. Choi, a 2022 Lefties player who hit more than .400 for his New Mexico junior college this spring, came through with his first extra-base hit of the summer ball season, an RBI double in the top of the second.
The hit raised Choi’s batting average to .100, but the South Korean fan favorite will have a number of supporters behind him at the plate.
Bend did all the damage it needed in a five-run bottom of the second, taking advantage of three fielding errors by the Lefties.
Games are moving faster
In an attempt to speed up the pace of play, the West Coast League is following in the stead of Major League Baseball and the NCAA with the addition of an “action clock.”
Umpires on the field are administering a 20-second clock between pitches, along with enforcing a 2-minute time limit between innings. These limits are being tracked with personal timing devices, as the WCL currently has no plans to mandate visible timers.
It’s a small sample size, but game times have fallen for Port Angeles, with the Lefties’ first six games clocking in at an average length of 2:29.
Last season, Port Angeles’ first six games included a 3:29 game on opening night in Victoria, a 3:38 game at Wenatchee and a 2:10 seven-inning game.
WCL games are available for streaming online at https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/.
Bend 7, Port Angeles 3
Lefties 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 3 3 4
Elks 0 5 0 1 1 0 0 X — 7 9 1
WP: Elder LP: Pietro
Pitching
Port Angeles — Pieto 5 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, K; Holpuck IP, H, K; Lewis IP, H; Barrett IP, K.
Bend — Elder 4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 2 K; Lemke 2 IP, K; Grote 2 IP, BB, 3 K; Green IP, K.
Hitting
Port Angeles — Choi 1-3, BB, 2B, R, RBI; Nunenz 1-3, R, BB, 2B; Jackson 1-3, R, BB, 2B; Young 0-3, SF, RBI.
Bend — Peterson 2-5, R, 2 RBI; Meier 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI; Christiansen 2-3, 2 R, HR, RBI; Rosell 2-4, R.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
