GreyWolves Rally Twice against Kitsap Before Falling 9-8
July 28, 2016 - West Coast League (WCL)
Gresham GreyWolves News Release
GRESHAM, Ore. - After somewhat of a nondescript victory in Tuesday's series opener against the Kitsap BlueJackets, Wednesday's contest at Oslund Field was anything but ordinary.
Kitsap (6-14, 14-33 overall) and the Gresham GreyWolves combined for 25 hits and 17 runs in a game that saw Gresham (11-6, 22-22) rally all the way back from separate deficits of five and three runs. It was the BlueJackets, however, that were able to pull in front one final time, using an unearned run in the top of the ninth inning to seal the deal on a 9-8 victory.
While the defense may not have been at its sharpest, the GreyWolves offense stepped up time and again throughout Wednesday evening. Both Mark Cardinalli (UC Davis) and Will Matthiessen (West Linn HS/Stanford) homered in the loss, marking Gresham's second multi-home run game of the summer.
Kitsap reliever John (J.F.) Matros (1-1) earned the win for the visiting side after throwing two scoreless innings to end the game.
The two teams will return to action on Thursday night for the rubber match of the three-game set. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. back at Oslund Field.
Gresham head coach Justin Barchus' postgame thoughts are below:
*On the overall play of the GreyWolves:*
"They outplayed us today. Credit our offense for staying in the game and getting some big hits, but we didn't do much right. They out-pitched us, out-hit us, and out-defended us too. That's just how it goes sometimes."
*On the increase in home runs as of late: *
"The air is getting warmer and on top of that, I think there's just something to be said about seeing a lot of at-bats. Early on, we had some guys whose season's ended before school did, so they went a couple weeks without seeing live pitches. I think that makes a big difference. Now, guys are starting to get more comfortable up there as they see pitches every single day."
*On Kitsap's winning run, which was scored on a bang-bang play at the plate following an error at first base:*
"It's hard to say (if he was safe). That was a tough call. We tagged him on the foot obviously but I don't know if that came before he reached the plate. As a coach, I was more frustrated with the play that led up to that." *On ending the game with a pair of called strikeouts offensively: *
"Those calls were hard to see from my angle. I can't tell inside and outside but I didn't think any of them were necessarily up or down. With two strikes on you in the ninth, you can't leave it up to the umpire. You just have got to go make plays. They did that by putting the ball in play and we didn't."
*On the importance of tomorrow's series finale: *
"Right now, every game is a huge game. We have 10 left and now we're a half game back of first place. If we can come back tomorrow and win a series we're going to be tied for first heading into our final three series. If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that we'd be tied for first with nine games left, I'd take it.
*On the message to the team after a tough loss: *
"All is not lost. We talked to the guys about not letting tonight beat you again tomorrow. So that'll be our focus moving forward and I think we will come out motivated."
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