Ayala's walk-off magic boots Pirates to 14-inning win

Pirates 1 AppleSox 0

MOSES LAKE — Jesse Ayala has perfect timing.

The Moses Lake Pirates hadn't hit a home run in their first 22 West Coast Collegiate Baseball League games this summer, but after 4 hours and 5 minutes of action Wednesday night at Larson Field, Ayala figured enough was enough.

The young third baseman from the University of Nevada drilled Ryan Graves' offering over the left-field fence, finally breaking a scoreless deadlock as the Pirates beat the Wenatchee AppleSox 1-0 in 14 innings.

"I was trying to get a good pitch to driver there and I just hit a fastball in," a sweating, smiling Ayala said after his teammates swarmed him at home plate.

Graves, Wenatchee's third pitcher of the evening, hadn't given up much in 2 2/3 innings of work. But with two outs in the bottom of the 14th, Ayala found a pitch to his liking and sent a towering drive off an advertising sign just inside the left-field foul pole and just over the outstretched glove of leaping Wenatchee left fielder Michael Miller. The umpire paused a moment before twirling his finger in the air for the home run sign.

Pirates head coach Gabe Boruff said the ending was typical of a lot of long, hard-fought games.

"That's how these late-inning games are won, either by a home run or an error," Boruff said. "Teams get mentally fatigued and it's who gets tired first. …When you hit a walk-off homer, it doesn't get any better than that."

The win gave Moses Lake (16-7) a six-game edge over Wenatchee for first place in the WCCBL East Division.

Moses Lake fans turned out in droves for the game to see Warden native Jorge Reyes make his debut with the Pirates. Reyes won two games for Oregon State and earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the College World Series last month. He'd been on the roster for the past week, but wanted to make his first start at home.

Reyes was rusty early on with his command, but recovered nicely in the latter innings. He left after the fifth, scattering six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Boruff kept his pitch count to the high 80s.

"He wanted to keep going and then we were real worried about letting him keep going," the coach said. "He's a competitor and he hates to lose, and he likes to go out there and battle every inning."

Wenatchee (10-13) threatened to have a big first inning for the second straight night as singles from Drew Heid and Curtis Van Wyck, and a walk to Dillon Baird, loaded the sacks with one out. Reyes got out of it with a strikeout and a ground ball.

In the sixth, the AppleSox loaded the bases against reliever Ben Guidos using a walk and a pair of singles. The University of Washington pitcher kept the game scoreless, coaxing Heid into a fielder's choice groundout.

Wenatchee had numerous scoring opportunities but simply couldn't outfox Guidos or Lee Roberts. The Moses Lake bullpen duo pitched the final nine innings, allowing seven hits and three walks while striking out five. Wenatchee left a total of 20 runners on base.

"I'm real proud of my pitching staff," Boruff added.

In the end, the Pirates simply refused to lose and Boruff credited his team for maintaining a high energy level.

"I thought we were just a little bit more upbeat throughout the game," he said. "I thought we had a lot more energy that they did and I think that's what helped us out."

Ayala agreed.

"We just don't quit," he said. "We just battle to the end. That's been our M.O. this year."

Guidos was scheduled to start tomorrow as the series shifts back to Wenatchee at 7 p.m. However, his long relief appearance Wednesday likely rules him out. Josh Keller (1-1, 3.78) is slated to start for the AppleSox.