Six for six: Pirates stay perfect, sweep Olympia

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake Pirates skipper Gabe Boruff likes the way the first six games of the summer have shaped out — and not for the most obvious reason.

Sure, his Pirates are 6-0, having capped off a sweep of the visiting Olympia Athletics with a 5-3 win Wednesday night at Larson Field. But having the half-dozen non-league contests at the start of the year, rather than in the middle like last year, has added benefits.

"We went through all our starters, our relievers, we know what we're going to do with them," Boruff said. "There's not a whole lot of pressure and now, tomorrow, is when it really starts and when we start picking it up a little bit."

Moses Lake opens West Coast Collegiate Baseball League play Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m., hosting the Kitsap BlueJackets. Left-hander Tyler Rogers, who threw five scoreless innings to get the win in the season's first game with Tacoma, starts for the Pirates.

Cam Gill, Moses Lake's starter on Wednesday, wasn't terribly sharp and got pulled with one out in the fourth inning. But Marcus Tackett, listed as an infielder on the Pirates' roster, came in to get them out of a jam and picked up the win by pitching the last 4 2/3 innings.

Tackett didn't allow a run, scattering four hits and four walks while striking out four. The 6-foot-1 righty will mainly play third base for Moses Lake, but Boruff said he'll see time at long reliever after being the No. 4 starter at Oral Roberts this spring.

"He's got a great fastball, he's got a great slider. He was using them very effectively tonight," Boruff said of Tackett.

Gill was charged with three earned runs on five hits and four walks during his outing, though Boruff focused on the positives.

"He was a little rusty, but the biggest thing we like, watching him, is he was competing," he said. "That's exactly what he did for us, and he kept us in the game, and then Marcus Tackett came in and preserved the lead and that's how we got the 'W.'"

The Pirates struck early as Zoey Angulo opened the game with a walk, stole second and scored on Ryan Bernsen's sacrifice fly.

In the second, Moses Lake pulled ahead 3-0. Shortstop Jesse Ayala ripped a double down the left-field line and catcher TJ Bernardy walked. Both scored when Angulo dumped the ball into shallow center field, just out of reach of the Athletics' diving defender.

Olympia broke through in the third, scoring once on two walks and two infield hits. Moses Lake made it 4-1 in the bottom of the frame after Mike Capbarat reached on an error, stole second and third, and came in on Bernsen's RBI single. Capbarat stole three bases in the game.

The fifth inning was a bit dicey for the Pirates as Olympia sent eight batters to the plate. However, a big inning was kept from being even bigger when baserunner Mike McIver was called out for interfering with Bernsen on a ground ball at first base. That negated the tying run from scoring, and Tackett ended the threat by striking out Josh Simms.

The Pirates plated 29 runs in their first two games, but mustered a more pedestrian 10 in the three-game sweep of Olympia. That's OK with Boruff, who said his players might simply be feeling effects of the grueling fall and spring seasons. The team's ability to manufacture runs through speed and contact hitting should make up for that — especially with a pitching staff that has allowed just six runs in six games.

"When you put up runs like that the first two games of the season, people have high expectations, but this is a wooden bat league," he said. "Sometimes your offense isn't going to show up; sometimes guys are pressing."