Bellingham's Krause delivers big blow to Moses Lake
Bells 4 Pirates 3
MOSES LAKE — Sometimes it takes a Pirate to beat a Pirate.
Or, more accurately, it takes a former Pirate.
Bellingham third baseman Billy Krause was that man for his new team, hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning Thursday as the Bells earned a 4-3 win over the Moses Lake Pirates in West Coast Collegiate Baseball League play at Larson Field.
Krause wore the red and black of the Pirates last summer.
With Moses Lake ahead 3-2 in the top of the fifth, Krause slammed starting pitcher Michael Ratigan's 1-0 pitch over the fence in left field, a shot that eventually stood up for the game-winning run.
"You've got to give him credit for executing on a pitch up," Moses Lake head coach Gabe Boruff said. "When you pitch up, you're gonna get hurt. (Ratigan) didn't have his best stuff tonight."
Ratigan (3-2) struggled with his command early on, and Bellingham made him pay. Shortstop Marcus Tackett's throwing error to begin the second inning also hurt, as the Bells got an RBI single from Kyle Holloway and an RBI double from Skylar Brewer to lead 2-0.
Boruff credited the Bells, last in the WCCBL West Division at 16-23, for playing hard.
"That team over there's got nothing to lose," he said. "Just because they're not a playoff contender, they're still gonna play hard. Their coach, Kevin Frady, does a great job."
Moses Lake's offense also didn't have its rhythm early against Bellingham starter Mark Triolo.
But that quickly changed in the third as Zach Kim stroked a one-out single and moved to second on a ground ball. Tackett walked and Holloway, the Bells' catcher, threw the ball into right field on an attempted pick-off play, bringing Kim home.
Pirate catcher Kevin Coddington then bounced an RBI single through the box, and the game was tied at 2.
The Pirates took their one and only lead an inning later. Moses Lake native Brad Tracy walked, moved to third on Ryan Bernsen's single and scored on Billy Swanson's bunt hit.
Ratigan, an Ephrata High product, allowed three earned runs on four hits, three walks and a hit batter in five innings. Pirate relievers Cam Gill, Lee Roberts and Daniel Wolford were superb, tossing four hitless innings and striking out eight.
Triolo (2-4) was wild at times, walking six, but got the complete-game victory by scattering four hits and striking out four. The Pirates missed some scoring opportunities that could've made for a much different ending.
"We're not hitting the ball real well right now and we're not executing on some things," Boruff said. "(Triolo) gave us a lot of outside fastballs and we did not make the adjustment.
As a coach, you preach to your kids, 'Make adjustments throughout the at-bat.' He was really pounding us away and we didn't hit the ball down the line too often. And that just shows that we're up there trying to do something else."
Josh Fish (3-0, 3.32) starts on the hill for the Pirates tonight as the teams play game two of the series at 7:30 p.m. Moses Lake still has incentive to finish strong as wins in the final two games would give it home-field advantage throughout the WCCBL playoffs.
"We've just got to come and play tomorrow and forget about today," Boruff said. "With two games left in the regular season, we better start getting on a roll so when we go into the playoffs we're not flat."