PORT ANGELES — Following a heartbreaking loss in a slugfest to finish their road trip, the Port Angeles Lefties began their final homestand Friday getting handcuffed by Yakima Valley pitchers in a 7-2 loss at Civic Field.
The Lefties also lost 11-10 on Thursday after letting an 8-1 lead slip away.
In Friday’s game, the Lefties managed just five hits and struck out 15 times. Yakima Valley starter Dylan Bishop struck out six in six innings, while reliever Case Matter struck out the side three straight times, punching out nine consecutive batters in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.
The Lefties were in a tight pitchers’ duel, down just 2-0, but the Pippins erupted for four runs in the fifth inning to blow the game open.
The Lefties got a two-run home run from Nathan Chong in the seventh inning. He drove home Jack Holman, who had doubled earlier in the inning. Chong finished 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs. Nick Oakley went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .302 for the season.
Unfortunately, Chong, Holman and Oakley had the Lefties’ only hits for the game.
On the mound, starter Steven Brooks allowed six earned runs in five innings and took the loss. Joshua Flaugher and Anthony Kodama pitched well in relief, though they were a bit wild. They combined for three hits, one earned run and six walks in four innings.
Yakima 7, Port Angeles 2
YV 2 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 — 7 11 0
PA 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 — 2 5 1
WP: Bishop. LP: Brooks. SV: Matter.
Pitching
YV — Bishop 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K; Matter 3 IP, 9 K.
PA — Brooks 5 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; Flaugher 3 IP, 3 H, ER, 5 BB; Kodama IP, BB, K.
Hitting
YV — Lajoie 3-5, HR, R, 4 RBI; Coballes 3-4 2B, R, RBI; Holder 2-4, 2B, R, RBI.
PA — Chong 2-4, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI; Holman 1-4 2B, R; Oakley 2-4.
Thursday’s game Wenatchee 11, Port Angeles 10
WENATCHEE — The Lefties got off to a fast start and built up a lead of 8-1 in the top of the fifth, but four errors killed the Lefties and their bullpen collapsed over the final four innings, allowing the AppleSox to score 10 runs to earn an 11-10 win.
Javy Espinoza had a two-run double in the third and Coleman Schmidt had a two-run bases-loaded single in the fourth as the Lefties built up their big lead.
Starter Luke Jewett cruised through the first four innings, allowing just one run, but he ran into trouble in the fifth. He got two quick outs in the fifth, then allowed a two-out walk and a home run to the AppleSox’s Collin Villegas. He left the game still up 8-3, however.
The AppleSox kept chipping away against four Lefties’ relievers, scoring three runs in the sixth, two more in the seventh and three more in the eighth. In the eighth, the Lefties had two outs with two on, but an error allowed two runners to score. A single afterward plated an unearned run. Reliever Damon Gaither took the loss.
Oakley went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs. Schmidt was 2-for-6 with three RBIs, while Espinoza had a double and three RBIs. Chong had a double and scored two runs.
Jewett went 4 2/3, allowing three earned runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out four. The bullpen allowed eight runs, six of them earned, in the final 3 1/3 innings.
The two teams combined to use 10 pitchers, who allowed a total of 42 baserunners.
The Lefties (12-31, 5-14 second half) played Saturday night at Civic Field against Yakima Valley (26-17, 11-8) after press deadline. They return to action at 1:35 p.m. today.
The game can be viewed at www.facebook.com/ leftiesbaseball.
Wenatchee 11, Port Angeles 10
PA 0 0 4 3 1 0 1 0 1 — 10 11 4
Wen. 0 1 0 0 2 3 2 3 X — 11 10 1
WP: Engman LP: Gaither SV: Grillo
Pitching
Wenatchee — Mercado 3.2 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 3 K; Heinrich 1.1 IP, H, K; DeDonato 1.2 IP, H, ER, 3 BB, 3 K; Engman 1.1 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K; Grillo IP, ER, 2 K.
PA — Jewett 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; Wike 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB, K; Sinclair 0.2 IP, ER, BB, K; Gaither 0.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 BB; Dunham IP, H, K.
Hitting
Wen. — Villegas 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, HBP; Guerrero 2-5, HR, RBI, Cutting 2-4, 3B, R, 2 RBI, BB; Grob 1-4, 2B, R, BB; Selfridge 1-2, 3 R, BB, 2 HBP.
PA — Oakley 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, HBP; Schmidt 2-6 3 RBI; Espinoza 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI; Chong 1-4 2B, 2 R, BB; Saunders 1-3, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB; Matthews 1-3, RBI, BB, SF; Takayoshi 1-3, 2 R, BB.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Lefties lead-off batter Nick Oakley hits for a single in the first inning on Friday at Port Angeles Civic Field.
