Bernsen burns Hawks with clutch single

Moses Lake sweeps Spokane, clinches WCCBL playoff spot

MOSES LAKE — What better way to wrap up a playoff spot than with a little two-out magic in your last at-bat?

And what better person to deliver the clutch hit than one of the local favorites?

That was the scenario for the Moses Lake Pirates Sunday night, as the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League's East Division leaders assured themselves of a playoff spot with 12 games to go in the regular season, beating the Spokane RiverHawks 4-3 at Larson Field.

It was Bernsen, the sure-handed first baseman from Big Bend Community College, who came through with the clutch hit in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Spokane reliever Jake Hiatt got the first two outs of the eighth easily, but Mike Capbarat kept things going with a sizzling single to left field. Capbarat then stole second, and after a Marcus Tackett walk, Bernsen grounded Hiatt's 1-2 offering through the middle for the eventual game-winning RBI.

"He's a clutch hitter," Pirates head coach Gabe Boruff said of Bernsen, who fell behind quickly in his final at-bat but came through anyway.

"The pitcher made a mistake and he took advantage of it," Boruff added. "Pretty exciting way to win."

Moses Lake led 3-1 until the seventh when the RiverHawks scored twice off reliever Josh Fish. Michael Hur led off with a walk and scored one out later on Shawn Wayt's single. Tyson Van Winkle followed with another single under the diving Bernsen at first.

Chris Bozo then blistered a drive off Fish's foot, allowing Wayt to come in and tie the score at 3-3.

Moses Lake starter Tyler Rogers didn't have much trouble until the sixth, when Phil Boscarino and Bozo singled and Bryan Horst walked to load the bases with two outs.

Boruff went to Ben Graham at that point, and the big right-hander struck out Brian Yardley to keep the Pirates' lead at two.

Rogers went 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven while scattering seven hits and three walks. He didn't earn the win, but pitched very well in Boruff's estimation.

"He gave us a chance to win and if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have won this game tonight," Boruff said.

Moses Lake's Lee Roberts moved to 3-1 on the summer, going 1 1/3 innings and striking out two of the five hitters he faced. Daniel Wolford retired the last three hitters in order for his ninth save of the season.

Spokane starter A.J. Proszek left after getting two outs in the fifth, and finished with three strikeouts and two walks. Only one of the three runs charged to Proszek were earned.

Moses Lake earned a three-game sweep, taking game one in Spokane 17-0 last Thursday and winning game two on Friday 5-2.

The Pirates coasted on Thursday, piling up a 5-0 advantage through two innings against Hawk starter Kevin Dickey. Jorge Reyes picked up his first win of the year for Moses Lake, going five innings with three hits allowed and six strikeouts.

The Pirates belted 20 hits off five Spokane pitchers. Tackett went 4 for 6 with a pair of doubles. Zach Kim was 4 for 4 with three doubles and scored four times, while Zach Hedges hit his first homer of the season and finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs.

Things were a bit more nonchalant the following night, with the Pirates using a four-run second inning off Spokane's Kraig Sitton as their ignition switch. Dale Reneau (5-0) continued his tremendous summer, allowing one run in six innings for Moses Lake.

The Pirates now turn their sights on an important three-game series with the Kitsap BlueJackets, who sit one-half game out of first place in the WCCBL West Division. Michael Ratigan takes the hill for Moses Lake on Monday at 7 p.m. Ben Guidos goes Tuesday and Reyes finishes the series on Wednesday.

"It's a really big series coming up with Kitsap," Boruff said. "They've been on a roll ever since we played them here and swept them in our own park."

While the Pirates are already in the postseason, Boruff doesn't want any complacency and doesn't expect any. There's still plenty to accomplish.

"There's still a goal, and the goal is you want to go out there and win every game," he said. "Our biggest goal is to have home-field advantage in the playoffs."