PORT ANGELES — The Lefties gave up 16 hits to a powerful Portland Pickles team and managed only five hits of their own in a 10-3 loss at Civic Field.
The Lefties also won a Thursday night game in Wenatchee 5-3 behind outstanding pitching from Thomas Ruwe and Avery Santos.
In Friday night’s home loss, the Pickles’ Brody Barnum, a Washington State ballplayer, killed the Lefties with two home runs and a double. Barnum ended the game with three runs scored and three RBIs.
The Lefties managed to stick close in Friday’s loss until the ninth inning, Portland held a 3-0 lead in the fifth and was still only up 6-3 after seven innings, after the Lefties erupted for a three-run inning to get back in the game. Jason Dicochea had a big two-run bases-loaded single in that inning, while Ronnie Rust drove in a run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
But, the Pickles played add-on after the seventh, scoring a run in the eighth and three more in the ninth to put the game away.
Dicochea finished 2 for 3 with a double, two RBIs and a walk as he raised his season average to .331, fourth best in the West Coast League. Ron Brown also had a double and scored a run while Rust was credited for an RBI.
Tyler Oldenberg started the game, going seven innings, giving up 12 hits and five earned runs, while striking out five. Kyle Hamrick pitched two innings, giving up four hits and four earned runs while walking one.
In Thursday’s win, Ruwe and Santos combined to keep the AppleSox offense in check. Ruwe started, going seven innings and giving up three earned runs on 10 hits while striking out six. Santos picked up a well-deserved save, going two innings after the Lefties scored three runs in the eighth to take a 5-3 lead. Santos gave up no hits and one walk while striking out two.
The Lefties entered the eighth inning down 3-2. Dicochea hit a single and Trey Morgan followed by getting on base on an AppleSox error. Evan Pace then drove in Dicochea with a single to make it 3-3. Kyle Schimpf then hit a single to score Morgan and Pace came in to score on a wild pitch to make it 5-3.
Pace finished the game 3 for 4 with two runs scored an an RBI, while Justin VanDeBrake went 2 for 5 with a double and two RBIs.
The Lefties (9-16 second half) played Saturday evening after press deadline against the Pickles (17-6 second half). The Lefties’ final West Coast League game of the season is at 1:05 p.m. today at Civic Field and then the Lefties finish off their season Tuesday at Civic with a nonleague game against the Highline Bears at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday, so these two games are the last two chances to see the Lefties this year.
NOTE: The Lefties are now fourth out of 11 teams in the West Coast League in average attendance at 1,357 per game. The only teams ahead of the Lefties, Victoria, Portland and Bellingham, all play in much bigger markets.
Pickles 10, Lefties 3
Pickles 0 0 3 0 2 0 1 1 3 — 10 16 3
Lefties 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 — 3 5 1
WP: Frias LP: Oldenberg
Pitching
Pickles — Frias 5IP, 3H, BB, 8K; Treadwell 3IP, 2H, ER, 3K; Wyatt 1IP.
Lefties — Oldenberg, 7IP, 12H, 5ER, BB, 5K; Hamrick 2IP, 4H, 4ER, BB.
Hitting
Pickles — McKinney 3-5, 2B, 2R, RBI; Delorefice 3-4, R, 2B, 2RBI; Murphy 3-5, 3B, R, 2RBI; Barnum 3-5, 2HR, 2B, 3R, 3RBI; Lopez 2-5, R; Cardenas 1-4, 2B, RBI.
Lefties — Dicochea 2-3, 2B, 2RBI, BB; Brown 2-3; Schimpf 1-4.
Lefties 5, AppleSox 3
Lefties 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 — 5 9 2
Sox 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 — 3 10 2
WP: Ruwe LP: Seamons SV: Santos
Pitching
Lefties — Ruwe 7IP, 3ER, 6K; Santos 2IP, BB, 2K.
AppleSox — Bafus 5IP, 2ER, BB, 8K; Seamons 4IP, 2ER, BB, 6K.
Hitting
Lefties — VanDeBrake 2-5, 2B, 2RBI; Pace 3-4, 2R, RBI; Rust 1-4, R; Schimpf 1-1 RBI, SB.
AppleSox — Spellacy 2-3, R; Marenco 3-4, RBI, SB; Magro 1-4, R, SB; Darcy 1-4, R.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Lefties’ Kyle Schimpf, right, hits a long ball as Portland Pickles catcher Noah Cardenas looks on in the second inning on Friday night at Port Angeles Civic Field.
