WCL Walla Walla Sweets

Sweets Eliminated from Playoff Contention with 9-1 Loss

Published on August 7, 2014 under West Coast League (WCL)
Walla Walla Sweets News Release


WALLA WALLA, Wa. - After a shutout first inning, the Walla Walla Sweets seemed primed to overpower the Victoria Harbourcats' bats as they did in the first game Tuesday night.

But a two-run homer and a five-run rally put those thoughts to rest, as the Sweets were dealt a crushing blow in the form of a 9-1 loss.

Coming off of a scoreless first inning, Cody Carroll (1-4) moved forward with confidence into the second inning. But with two out, Kelly Norris-Jones singled, and immediately afterward, Ted Boeke crushed a two-run homer to left field, giving the Harbourcats a 2-0 lead.

Without skipping a beat, Parker Osborne led off the bottom of the second with a triple to deep center field. A walk to Kevin Morgan then placed the tying run on base, but a flyout by Sean Bouchard proved inadequate to score Osborne from third, Morgan was caught stealing second, and Renae Martinez popped out to end the threat.

In the top of the 3rd, Griffin Andreychuk led off with a walk. Carroll later uncorked an errant pickoff throw to first base, moving Andreychuk to second and setting off a chain reaction for the Harbourcats. Alex DeGoti moved his teammate to third on a groundout, and Hunter Mercado-Hood scored Andreychuk with a base hit. From there, two walks, a two-RBI single by Norris-Jones and a two-run double by Boeke shot the Harbourcats up to a 7-0 lead.

In the bottom half, the Sweets managed just one run, coming via an RBI single by Mike Paulson, scoring Andrew Mendenhall who had reached base on an infield single.

The five-run flood in the 3rd had prompted an early exit for Carroll. Clayten Ayres, making his pitching debut for the Sweets, took over in relief for the 4th inning and retired the side in order. The right-hander from Walla Walla Community College would continue to hold the Harbourcats scoreless through the 7th, keeping the score 7-1 the entire way.

"I just wanted to come in and throw some strikes," Ayres said. "(I wanted to) get my offspeed (working) early and get them (Victoria) off balance. . . . When you command the zone, it puts pressure on them (the opposition) to put the ball in play, and we've got a great defense."

Meanwhile, Alex Fagalde (3-0) held the Sweets spellbound, striking out nine while allowing just one run on six hits through seven innings, earning the win for Victoria. Andrew Nelson tossed the final two innings, giving up a lone hit while striking out two.

Alex Fisher worked a scoreless 8th inning for Walla Walla, and Aldo Ferrante made his league pitching debut in the 9th, allowing two runs on two hits, walking one and striking out one.

With the 9-1 loss, the Sweets allowed the Harbourcats to tie the series at one game apiece, while the Sweets (25-25) were eliminated from playoff contention with a Bend win over Corvallis at Goss Stadium. Even in the event that the Sweets should win their final four games and Bend should lose its remaining four, the Elks swept the season series from the Sweets, three games to none, thus eliminating the need for a tiebreaking procedure.

The Sweets will return to Borleske Stadium for their final home game of the season Thursday, when they face the Harbourcats in the deciding game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

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West Coast League Stories from August 7, 2014


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