PORT ANGELES — With a spectacular background of fresh snow on the hills outside of Port Angeles, the Roughriders baseball team got fantastic pitching from Elijah Flodstrom and plenty of power in blanking a young Sequim team 10-0 at Civic Field.
In the Riders’ best pitching performance of the season, Flodstrom went the full five innings, allowing just two hits while walking one batter. He struck out seven.
“Flodstrom was as sharp as we’ve seen him. His curve ball was phenomenal,” said Port Angeles coach Casey Dietz. He said Flodstrom had command of two pitches, the curve and fastball, all night.
The sun sets behind storm clouds as the Sequim baseball team meets at Port Angeles Civic Field at the conclusion of Monday night’s baseball game. (Pierre LaBossiere/Peninsula Daily News)
Connor Bear didn’t have a bad game for the Wolves. He went four innings, allowing two earned runs. He walked two and struck out three.
Bear was hurt by four Sequim errors. Sequim coach Dave Ditlefsen said his young team had actually tightened up some of its defensive issues in this game.
“We just gotta get better every game. We actually tightened up our defense pretty well. They just hit the ball really well,” Ditlefsen said.
Ditlefsen said he thought Ayden Holland did a good job at shortstop for the Wolves, while Zach McCracken also had a good game catching.
The Riders belted six extra-base hits, including two doubles by doubles machine Beckett Jarnigan and a home run and a double by Ezra Townsend.
“I saw the pitch high and tight and turned on it,” Townsend said of his home run. “I knew it was out as soon as I hit it.”
Townsend used the entire field. A left-handed hitter, he pulled his home run to dead right field. His double was a deep, slicing drive down the left-field line that just stayed fair.
“I just took an outside pitch and stepped into it,” Townsend said of his double.
“Our offense was really good,” Dietz said. He said the Riders were upper-cutting early, but his players adjusted and started concentrating on hitting line drives.
“Our two-strike was much better tonight, too,” he said.
“This was the best game we’ve played all year. We played as a team and a family,” Townsend said.
Early duel
Bear and Flodstrom had a solid pitchers’ duel going over the first two-and-a-half innings as neither team could break through for a run.
The Riders’ Michael Soule started a six-run rally in the third inning with a leadoff bunt single. Doubles machine Beckett Jarnigan belted a deep drive to left field for a two-bagger. Two runs came in on a groundout and an error.
Bear looked like he was going to get out of the inning with two outs and a runner at first with Ezra Townsend at the plate. Townsend, a leftie, crushed a home run to dead right field to make it 4-0.
A walk and two straight errors allowed two more runs to come in.
After an error allowed Soule to get on base in the fifth, Payton Cagey hit a long ground-rule double. Flodstrom followed with an RBI groundout and John Vaara a sharp RBI single to left to make it 8-0.
Townsend then sliced a line drive down the left-field line. His drive drove in Vaara, though Townsend was thrown out at third base trying to stretch it into a triple.
The Riders loaded the bases in the fifth, with Cole Johnson belting a double, Acker drawing a walk and Zane Glassock hitting a single. Johnson came in to score on a wild pitch to end the game.
It was Port Angeles’ second 10-0 win of the season.
Port Angeles (3-3, 5-6) play at Bremerton (3-3, 3-4) on Thursday in an important game for qualifying for postseason, while Sequim (0-7, 1-9) plays at unbeaten Bainbridge (5-0, 8-0) on Thursday.
Port Angeles 10, Sequim 0
Seq. 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2 4
PA 0 0 6 3 1 — 10 9 0
WP: Flodstrom
Pitching
Sequim — Bear 4 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
Port Angeles — Flodstrom 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 7 K.
Hitting
Sequim — Bear 1-2; White 1-2; Jennings 0-1, BB.
Port Angeles — Townsend 2-3, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI; Jarnigan 2-3, 2 2B, 2R; Cagey 1-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI; Johnson 1-1 2B, R; Soule 1-2, R; Glassock 1-2 R; Vaara 1-3 2 R, RBI; Ritchie 0-0, 2 BB; Burkhardt 1-2.
