GreyWolves Walk Their Way to 6-4 Victory against Corvallis
July 21, 2016 - West Coast League (WCL)
Gresham GreyWolves News Release
GRESHAM, Ore. - It wasn't necessarily conventional, but the Gresham GreyWolves managed to emerge victorious for the eighth time in their past 10 games with a 6-4 win against the Corvallis Knights on Wednesday night.
Despite going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, Gresham (8-2, 19-18 overall) was able to scratch across six runs due in part to a 14-walk night from the Corvallis (4-6, 22-15) pitching staff. The game marked the return to West Coast League play for both teams after the All-Star break.
"Good teams find a way to grind out wins when things aren't always going right," said head coach Justin Barchus after the game. "But I think we saw a little bit of rust showing after taking four days off. I told our guys after, you're not going to get a team like Corvallis to walk you 14 times for the rest of the series, and probably for the rest of the season."
Those walks started coming from the outset, as the GreyWolves were able to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead after the first inning thanks to multiple free passes being issued from starter Grant Goodman (San Francisco). All-Star's Ryan Smith (Southern Illinois) and Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. (California) both worked bases-loaded walks to give their team a one-run advantage in that opening frame.
Gresham closer Michael Clark (Cal Poly) credited his offense for not giving up after falling behind early in counts.
"A lot of our batters got behind 0-2 but were able to get back to a full count and then work those walks," Clark said. "You always like to see that from hitters, but 14 walks is pretty unheard of regardless."
It was another pair of bases-loaded walks that plated two additional runs for the GreyWolves in the third. This time it was Ben Klenke and Will Matthiessen picking up the RBIs, with the eight and nine-hole hitters both reaching first after working full counts against reliever Cameron Richman.
"Those early runs make things easier on pitchers like me," says Clark. "Our hitters have really turned it on lately and have been getting good at-bats."
Determined to help out their struggling staff, the Knights offense went on the offensive, plating two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to even the game at 4-4 at the halfway point. The score remained that way all the way until the seventh, when Barchus' club was able to break through for a pair of runs that would ultimately serve as the nail in the Corvallis coffin.
Dylan Doherty (Cal Poly) became the hero on this night, driving in the game-winning run with a two-out triple to right field that scored Klenke all the way from first. Doherty would then come in from third to score a big insurance run, cruising home on a fielding error by the Knights second baseman that should have gotten his pitcher out of the inning.
After reliever Carter Buuck was lifted with two outs in the top half of the eight, Barchus called upon Clark to try and complete a four-out save for Gresham. The right-hander did just that, stranding the tying run in scoring position to finish the eighth before shutting the door with ease in the ninth.
"There is not much of a difference," Clark said when asked about the differences between a four-out save and a typical one. "In the eighth I was just trying to get out of the jam without letting a run across, and then in the ninth my goal was to make it quick and leave with a win."
Clark did just that, sealing the deal on an unorthodox 6-4 victory. The save was the sophomore's fourth of the summer, and his third in the past 10 days.
The win will allow the GreyWolves to go for a series victory tomorrow against Corvallis in the second of three games with the visiting Knights. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. back at Oslund Field.
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West Coast League Stories from July 21, 2016
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- HarbourCats Drop First Game Post- All-Star Game - Victoria HabourCats
- Pippins Grind out Extra Winning Win over Kelowna - Yakima Valley Pippins
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