GreyWolves Score 11 Unanswered Runs En Route to Skid-Snapping Victory
June 27, 2016 - West Coast League (WCL)
Gresham GreyWolves News Release
GRESHAM, Ore. - Maybe this is how the streak had to end.
Losers of six of their last seven games coming into Sunday's matchup with the Wenatchee AppleSox, the Gresham GreyWolves quickly found themselves down 6-0 on a hot evening at Oslund Field. But instead of rolling over and adding another digit to the loss column, Gresham decided to do something about it.
Taking out a week's worth of frustration in five short innings, the GreyWolves (7-12) rattled off 11 unanswered runs en route to an 11-9 victory over visiting Wenatchee (8-10). The offensive output marked the team's best performance of the year to date.
"It feels really good to get a win," remarked third baseman Jack Johnson (Washington) after the win. "These past couple of games have been tough, but tonight we made some plays and they made mistakes we were able to capitalize on."
One of those first mistakes came in the bottom of the fourth inning, back when the AppleSox still held a six-run advantage. Starter Matt Young (Nevada) made his first error of the night, leaving a 2-2 pitch up in the zone against the powerful Nick Snyder. The cleanup man was all over it, blasting a towering shot over the wall and into the pine trees in left-center field for the team's first home run in West Coast League play.
The home run scored Johnson in the process, and while the visitors from Washington would escape the inning with a 6-2 lead still intact, Gresham had made it clear it wouldn't be going down without a fight.
"I think it's contagious," said head coach Justin Barchus when asked about his team's offensive mindset while playing from behind. "For guys who aren't having good at-bats, they see a ball hit to the wall or hit over and they say, 'I can do that too'. We got some big hits from all over tonight."
Those hits kept on coming in the sixth as the GreyWolves continued to claw their way back into the game. Dixie State product Ryan Rodriguez got the inning started with a leadoff base hit, and he would come around to score on an RBI single off the bat of Mark Cardinalli. A couple of batters later it was the Southern Illinois-connection that paid off for Barchus' club, as pinch-hitter Drew Curtis scored his Saluki and GreyWolves teammate Ryan Smith with an RBI single of his own.
The big explosion of the night came in the bottom of the seventh, when Gresham tacked on six runs to not only grab the lead but give itself some insurance in the process. It was then Johnson's turn to go yard in the eighth, hitting the team's second home run of the game (and the season) to make the score 11-6.
"I got behind in the count early," Johnson recounted. "Then he threw me a couple balls that I was happy to lay off of. After that he just left a fastball up in the middle of the plate that I put a good swing on. I ended up barreling it and it got out."
Wenatchee ended up tallying three runs in its half of the ninth, but the rally ended up being too little, too late. Closer Jake Boyd ended up getting nine-hole hitter Matt Frazier (Arizona) to go down on strikes, putting a bow on the crazy 11-9 victory.
Reliever Donavon Ramirez (2-0) earned the win for Gresham after throwing 2.2 innings of one-hit, zero run baseball out of the bullpen. Right-handed Ross Clevenger (1-1) ended up taking the loss for the AppleSox.
The GreyWolves now embark on a five-game road trip that will include stops in Yakima and Bremerton. Just eight contests remain before a playoff spot is clinched with the conclusion of the first half of the season, and with the team still 4.5 games back of first place, the focus remains on getting better everyday and not worrying too much about the standings.
"We are just trying to build our team right now," says Barchus. "That's really what it is all about for us. You keep that (the current standings) in the back of your mind, but when you look at the big picture all you need to make the playoffs is to win the second half or have the second best record in the league at the end of the season."
• Discuss this story on the West Coast League message board...
West Coast League Stories from June 27, 2016
- GreyWolves Hit the Road for Five Games - Gresham GreyWolves
- RBC Hits a Grand Slam with HarbourCats - Victoria HabourCats
- GreyWolves Score 11 Unanswered Runs En Route to Skid-Snapping Victory - Gresham GreyWolves
- Bells Fall to Bend - Bellingham Bells
- Walk-Off Win Ties WCL Consecutive-Victory Record - Victoria HabourCats
- Falcons Sweep - Kelowna Falcons
- Walla Walla Takes Series with Pippins on Late Offensive Burst - Walla Walla Sweets
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
