PORT ANGELES — Kelowna bounced back after a Lefties win Saturday to beat Port Angeles 7-4 on Sunday, overcoming 14 strikeouts by Lefties’ pitchers.
Port Angeles (4-14) got a home run from Spencer Dickinson (Oklahoma Baptist), his second of the year and a triple from Jeremy Giesegh (Cal State, San Bernardino), who went 2-for-5 with an RBI to maintain his batting average at .384, good for fourth in the West Coast League. He is also second in the league in RBIs with 18.
Ethan Kodama (California, Berkeley), also hit 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Colby Scheuber (Ocosta High School, transfer portal) went six innings and struck out 11 batters. He gave up five hits, one walk and three earned runs and took the hard luck loss. Relievers Drew Pfundt (Capital University) and Alec Hagopian (Embry-Riddle) went 1⅔ innings, allowing no hits, no walks and striking out three.
Port Angeles is off Monday but is hosting a pitch, hit and run competition for kids beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Lefties return to action at Civic Field at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday for a one-game series against the Redmond Dudes.
Saturday’s game
On Saturday, the Lefties hit three straight doubles as part of a four-run sixth inning to take control in a 6-4 win over Kelowna, snapping a tough-luck eight-game losing streak.
The Lefties were tied 2-2 entering the bottom of the sixth when their bats erupted. Roberto Garza-Nunez (Embry-Riddle), Jason Leon (Cal State, Bakersfield) and Colin Spear (Nevada) hit three straight RBI doubles to blow the game open.
Garza-Nunez finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored. Leon finished 2-for-5 with a run scored and three RBIs. Giesegh had a hit, a run scored, a walk and a sacrifice fly.
“It feels great, finally hits falling our way and we’re really starting to gel together,” Garza-Nunez said after the win. “Just trust the process and play for another, I think that’s our biggest motivation and it showed tonight.”
Kelowna’s Trey Duffield (Rice University) slugged a two-run homer in the first inning to give the Falcons an early lead. He nearly slugged a second homer, but Kosei Suzuki (Frank Phillips) reached over the left-field wall to rob Duffield, shifting the momentum back to Port Angeles.
“The biggest motivator tonight was Kosei, for sure, robbing the home run,” Garza-Nunez said. “It’s a different ball game if that didn’t happen. That was a game-saving play.”
On the mound, four Lefties pitchers allowed just five hits. Riley Ricken, a teammate of Giesegh’s at San Bernardino, started, going 2⅓ innings, allowing one hit and two earned runs while walking three.
Brock Mayer (Point Loma Nazarene) got the victory, going 3⅔ innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs. He walked two and struck out five.
“I told myself I wasn’t gonna throw a curve ball this summer, so I had to really rely on the cutter,” Mayer said after the game. “Just kinda abusing that pitch and trying to just get it in the zone, hit corners and get guys out in front.”
Joshua Verkuilen (Chaffey College) pitched an inning, striking out two and Kole Acker picked up the save, going the final two innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.
Friday’s game
The Lefties got great pitching from starter John Vaara but the bullpen couldn’t hold a 3-1 lead and Port Angeles lost to Kelowna 6-3 on Friday, the team’s eighth loss in a row.
Vaara (Port Angeles High School, Edmonds Community College) was outstanding, going five innings, allowing five hits and one earned run. He walked three and struck out two. But the bullpen allowed eight hits, three walks and five earned runs over the final four innings to let the lead slip away. Vaara improved his season ERA to 2.57.
Giesegh remained hot for the Lefties at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double to raise his season batting average for a day to an even .400.
Kodama was 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in the fifth inning. But that was the only scoring Port Angeles could manage as the Lefties were held to seven hits.
Despite the eight-game losing streak, the Lefties have been in nearly every game until the late innings. Two of those losses were by one run and another was by two runs. Another loss came when Corvallis scored three runs in the ninth.
Lefties broadcaster Thomas Johnson contributed to this article.
Port Angeles 6, Kelowna 4
Kel. 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 — 4 5 2
PA 0 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 x — 6 7 1
WP: Mayer. LP: Woodcock. SV: Acker.
Pitching
Kelowna — Mayo 3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, K; Woodcock 1.2 IP, H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K; Taylor 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 K.
PA — Ricken 2.1 IP, H, 2 ER, 3 BB; Mayer 3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K; Verkuilen IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K; Acker 2 IP, H, 2 K.
Hitting
Kelowna — Duffield 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI; Kuni 2-4, 3B.
PA — Nunez 3-4, 2 2B, R, RBI; Leon 2-5, 2B, R, 3 RBI; Spear 1-2, 2B, RBI, 2 BB; Giesegh 1-3, R, RBI, BB, SF.
Kelowna 6, Port Angeles 3
Kel. 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 0 — 6 13 0
PA 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 — 3 7 1
WP: Sinclair. LP: Joyce. SV: Godard.
Pitching
PA — Vaara 5 IP, 5 H, ER, 3 BB, 2 K; Schumann IP, 2 H, 2 ER; Joyce I.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB; Wike 0.2 IP, H; Bebout IP, 2 H.
Kelowna — Luna 4 IP, 3 H, BB, K; Sinclair 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB; Rattie IP; Godard IP, BB, K.
Hitting
PA — Giesegh 2-4, 2B; Kodama 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI; Arriaga 1-2, R.
Kelowna — Gray Jr. 2-5, 2B, 2 R; Devenny 3-5, RBI; Flores 2-4, 2B, BB; Pena 2-4, 2B, R, BB; Sewell 2-5, HR, 2B, R, RBI.
