PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Lefties are enjoying a five-game winning streak, completing a sweep of the Kelowna Falcons with a 9-2 win Sunday at Civic Field.
The Lefties are the hottest team in the West Coast League at the moment, as their pitching and hitting are both meshing at the right time.
In Sunday’s win, Jack Edmunds (Brown) belted another home run, his fourth of the year. He also hit a double, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Tommy Markey (Fordham) also went 2-for-5 with a run scored and three RBIs, while Garrett Cooper (Lower Columbia) hit a double and drove in two runs.
Newcomer Kayne Jinks (Tennessee Tech) hit a double and scored a run.
On the mound, Brad Johnson (Central Arizona) started, going four inning and allowing just one hit. He walked three and struck out three.
Ian Hoffstetter (Chaffey College) got the victory, going three innings and allowing three hits and no runs. He walked one and struck out one.
Takuma Sato (Mount Hood CC) pitched the final 1â…” innings, allowing no baserunners and striking out one.
The red-hot Lefties (10-14 in West Coast League, 13-14 overall) make their longest road trip of the season Monday, traveling all the way to northern Alberta to take on Edmonton (12-11), beginning on Canada Day July 1. While Bellingham and Wenatchee are running away with the North Division, The Lefties are just 2½ games behind Edmonton for third place.
Port Angeles 9, Kelowna 2
Kel. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 — 2 6 0
PA 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 3 x — 9 9 2
WP: Hoffstetter; LP: Fitzgerald.
Pitching
PA — Johnson 4 IP, H, 3 BB, 3 K; Hoffstetter 3 IP, 2 H, BB, K; Lopez 0.1 IP, 2 H, ER, BB; Sato 1.2 IP, K.
Hitting
PA — Edmunds 3-3, HR, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI; Markey 2-5, R, 3 RBI; Cooper 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; Jinks 1-4, 2B, R.
Saturday’s Game
The Port Angeles Lefties won their fourth game in a row, getting solid pitching for the second straight game in a 4-2 victory over the Kelowna Falcons on Saturday.
Five Lefties pitchers allowed just seven hits and had a shutout going until the eighth inning. Ryan Rodriguez (Centralia) started, going four innings and allowing four hits and no runs. He walked two and struck out two.
Cade Stuart (Fresno Pacific) pitched two hitless innings, walking one and striking out one, to earn the victory,. Jake Cumming (Coppin State) pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn the save.
At the plate, the Lefties got all the runs they would need in the second and third innings. Cooper had a two-run single in the second, while Dom Dominguez (Cal State, San Bernardino) and Chanz Doughty (Stony Brook) each had an RBI single in the third. Jett Nelson (Jamestown) hit a double.
Port Angeles 4, Kelowna 2
Kel. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 — 2 7 1
PA 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 x —4 7 0
WP: Stuart; LP: Van Klooster
Pitching
PA — Rodriguez 4 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K; Stuart 2 IP, BB, K; Vaara IP, H, ER, 2 BB, K; Verkuilan IP, 2 H ER, BB, K; Cumming, IP.
Hitting
PA — Doughty 2-4, RBI; Dominguez 1-3, R, RBI; Cooper 1-2, 2 RBI; Nelson 1-4, 2B, R.
Friday’s Game
The Port Angeles Lefties got a gem from Garrett Holpuch and a three-run home run from Edmunds in the fourth inning to beat Kelowna 8-3 Friday night in their series opener against the Falcons.
The Lefties jumped past the Falcons in the North Division standings with the victory.
Holpuch pitched a rare complete game, needing just 101 pitches, 70 of them strikes, in nine innings. He allowed just five hits, no walks and three earned runs and struck out six. The Lefties’ defense helped him out by playing errorless ball.
Edmunds belted his home run, his third of the year, after Jeremy Giesegh (Cal State, San Bernardino) and Eric Valdivia (Chaffey College) got on base with singles.
Valdivia finished the game 3-for-4, while Danny Porras (Gig Harbor) had a big day with two doubles and two runs scored. Taylor Kirk (Fordham) was 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs and Dominguez had a double and an RBI.
It was Holpuch’s second straight victory. He beat Nanaimo 9-1 exactly a week earlier. In his past 16 innings, he has allowed just four runs (2.50 ERA), nine hits and struck out 11, bouncing back from a rough game early in the year against Wenatchee.
Port Angeles 8, Kelowna 3
Kel. 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 —3 5 1
PA 0 0 2 5 1 0 0 x —8 11 0
WP: Holpuch; LP: Clark.
Pitching
PA — Holpuch 9 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 6 K.
Batting
PA — Edmunds 1-4, HR, R, 3 RBI; Porras 2-5, 2 2B, 2 R; Valdivia 3-4, R; Kirk 2-3, R, 2 RBI; Dominguez 1-4, 2B, RBI.
