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WCL Walla Walla Sweets

It takes 10 to end eight

June 29, 2011 - West Coast League (WCL)
Walla Walla Sweets News Release


Kelowna--It ended an inning later than they hoped it would but the Walla Walla Sweets finally snapped their eight-game losing streak, scoring four runs in the 10th inning in beating the Kelowna Falcons 6-2 on Tuesday night at Elks Stadium.

Walla Walla battled to take the lead with a run in the top of the ninth but relinquished it in the bottom of the ninth. Determined to end the skid, Austin Heaps chopped a ground ball to short and hustled down the line, beating the throw for a one-out infield single. The Sweets then pinch-ran Kalani Brackenridge and pinch-hit Scott Gottschling. Brackenridge broke for second on the 3-2 pitch and Gottschling singled to left-center, putting runners on first and third.

James Campbell then hit a hard ground ball up the middle that was fielded by Ryan Paterson. Brackenridge had broken for home on contact and was dead at home but Paterson threw the ball over his catchers head from ten feet away. That gave the Sweets the 3-2 lead and Goose Kallunki greeted Kelowna's relief pitcher with a two-run double to left-center, extending the lead to 5-2. Nick Gentili capped the scoring with an RBI single to left-center.

Closing out the victory though was much tougher than they hoped. Derek Peterson got the first two outs of the ninth and was a strike away from ending the game but gave up a two-out double to Connor Joe. The next batter hit a ground ball to second that scooted into center field, scoring Joe with the tying-run.

The Sweets even had trouble in the tenth. Kyle Anderson came on to pitch and hit the first batter and gave up a single to the second batter. He battled back to get a strikeout, a pop out to first and a strikeout to end the game.

A Bo Folkinga RBI double in the bottom of the first seemed to be all the Falcons needed as their starter, Jared Mortenson dealt. The right-hander retired the first six batters he faced and after hitting a batter with one out in the third, induced an inning-ending double play; facing the minimum through three. He gave up his first two hits of the night to start the fourth and walked Elliot Stewart to load the bases with no outs but worked out of it. He got help as Heaps' liner to first was turned into a double play and then he got a struck out to end the inning.

Mortenson got the first out of the eighth as well but left a pitch out over the plate and Stanford drilled it into left-center field for a double. Stanford moved to third on a balk and scored the tying-run on a Denver Chavez sac fly to right field.

It was Stanford again in the ninth that gave the Sweets the lead. Campbell reached on a throwing error to start the inning and was still there after two outs were recorded and walk was issued to Kevin Williams. Facing a 2-2 count, Stanford jumped on a curveball and laced it into right-center, scoring Campbell from second.

Sweets starter Tim Culligan matched Mortenson pitch-for-pitch through seven innings. He faced a first and second jam in the fourth but was helped out by a 6-4-3 double play and then didn't allow a hit until a one-out single in the seventh. He went seven innings, gave up two runs on five hits and induced 14 ground ball outs. Peterson pitched a 1-2-3 eighth before giving up the ninth inning run but did pick up the win as the Sweets picked him up with a four-run 10th. Anderson earned the save in relief.

Stanford had three hits for the second straight night, Chavez had two hits and Campbell scored two runs for the Sweets. Keach Ballard had two hits in his first game with the Falcons and Folkinga also chipped in two hits.

The victory ended the Sweets six-game road trip on a high note as they head home to start a three-game series at Borleske Stadium on Thursday against Cowlitz. Thursday's game starts at 7:05 p.m. and it is Thirsty Thursday at the ballpark, with select domestic drafts and 20 oz. sodas $1 through the first pitch of the fifth inning.

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