Late Rally Not Enough as Cowlitz Tops GreyWolves in Series Finale
June 9, 2016 - West Coast League (WCL)
Gresham GreyWolves News Release
GRESHAM, Ore. - At some point, the Gresham GreyWolves had to lose a game.
After starting the season with four straight victories - two coming in non-conference action and two coming against the West Coast League's Cowlitz Black Bears - Gresham (4-1, 2-1 WCL) finally dropped its first game as a franchise on Wednesday in the finale of its three game set with visiting Cowlitz. The Black Bears jumped out to a 6-1 advantage in this one before holding on for a 7-5 victory.
"We talked about trying to win the series," said head coach Justin Barchus after the game. "That is always our first goal. Obviously when you win the first two you then want the sweep, but that doesn't always happen."
After a pair of scoreless frames to start the game, Cowlitz (5-2, 4-2 WCL) was able to get to starting pitcher Aaron Shoup for three runs in the third. The Saint Martin's product then settled back in and threw up zeroes in the next two innings, with his offense cutting into the deficit via a single run in the home half of the fourth.
Another three-run frame - this one coming in the sixth - allowed the Black Bears to break the game open momentarily, but the GreyWolves would quickly hit the comeback trail.
An RBI double off the bat of Will Matthiessen (West Linn HS/Stanford) in the bottom half of the frame made the score 6-2, and while Cowlitz reliever Brandon Eisert was able to get out of that jam, the Aloha High School senior wasn't as lucky in the seventh. Gresham tacked on three more runs in that inning, sparked by a Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. RBI single (his fifth RBI of the series) and a pair of defensive errors which plated two additional runs.
"I am just trying to keep a consistent approach," Mitchell said. "I was disappointed with my at-bat earlier when I left the bases loaded, so (in the seventh) I was just trying to get my bat square and drive something up the middle."
Unfortunately for the GreyWolves, their rally would stop there. The Black Bears tacked on one more run in the ninth to push their lead to 7-5, and a 1-2-3 bottom half of the inning put the finishing touch on their lone win of the series.
Damon Jones (Washington State) was credited with the victory, improving the southpaw's record to 2-0 on the young season. Shoup (0-1) took the loss for the GreyWolves.
While the loss stings momentarily for Gresham, the team was able to focus on the bigger picture and the fact that they had still won their first WCL series of the season.
"We're looking good," says Mitchell. "Their guy (Jones) was on and shut us down for a little bit, but we were able to come back and show a little fight at the end. That type of stuff will be big for us moving forward."
Next up for Mitchell and company is another three-game set to close out this homestand. Their series with the Yakima Valley Pippins will begin on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. at Oslund Field.
West Coast League Stories from June 9, 2016
- GreyWolves Close Homestand with Yakima Valley Series - Gresham GreyWolves
- Pippins Update - Yakima Valley Pippins
- Wear Youth Team Jersey to June 17 Game; Get Free GA Ticket - Corvallis Knights
- AppleSox Drop Series to HarbourCats - Wenatchee AppleSox
- Late Rally Not Enough as Cowlitz Tops GreyWolves in Series Finale - Gresham GreyWolves
- Bells Drop Game 2 against Corvallis - Bellingham Bells
- Sweets Drop Game Two to Falcons in 11 Innings - Walla Walla Sweets
- Knights Blank Bellingham 2-0 - Corvallis Knights
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