Walleyes, Hanford split as Legion playoffs loom closer

HANFORD — The Moses Lake Walleyes Junior American Legion baseball team continued to stay in the thick of the league playoff chase with a doubleheader split at Hanford High School last Friday.

With six games remaining on the league schedule, Moses Lake stands at 10-8 and in fourth place. The top six clubs make the playoffs, which begin July 26, but Walleyes coach Ed McNamara noted four of the upcoming games are against teams ahead of them in the standings.

The Walleyes won game one last Friday 8-4 behind strong pitching from Brock Lybbert and Matt Harris, and an offensive attack that featured five players with multiple hits.

Lybbert got the win despite an early exit, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks while mixing in a pair of strikeouts in four innings.

"He'd thrown on Tuesday (against Richland) so we weren't going to throw him a whole bunch," McNamara explained.

Harris pitched the final three innings, allowing two runs and striking out four.

"He did a really good job," McNamara said of Harris. "He's only pitched once (before) for us."

That was more than enough for a Moses Lake offense that was tuned in to Hanford's arms and staked Lybbert to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Dylan Signorelli finished a triple short of the cycle, going 3 for 4 with two runs batted in and a solo home run.

Aaron Morice was 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Josh Martinez, Tyler Sage and Alex Moncada all finished 2 for 3.

"We kind of had an offensive barrage going and then it just kind of dwindled down in the second game," McNamara said.

A lack of base runners, and some ill-timed defensive mistakes, contributed to an 8-4 Hanford win in the nightcap. Kurt Hickman took the loss, allowing seven runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings. Due to errors, only three of the seven runs were earned. Troy Stephens was the scheduled starter for the Walleyes, but had to miss the game for personal reasons.

Signorelli led the offense, going 2 for 4 with a double, but the rest of the lineup produced only four hits.

"Our big hitters, we didn't have much from them," McNamara said. "With nobody on in front of (Signorelli), he didn't drive in anybody."

Hanford broke on top with four runs in the third inning. Moses Lake responded with four runs in the top of the fourth, but Hanford took control after that against Hickman and reliever Chris Jackson.

Jackson and Moncada tossed the final 3 1/3 innings and kept Hanford from pulling away.

"With the whole overall picture, I was happy with how the guys performed," McNamara said of game two. "We just didn't score like we had been scoring."

Moses Lake returns to action Wednesday, taking on the Kennewick Dusters in a doubleheader at Southridge High School. Game one begins at 5 p.m.