Walleyes shrug off tough loss, split Legion doubleheader

MOSES LAKE — After a disappointing loss in game one of their Wednesday doubleheader, the Moses Lake Walleyes didn't get mad — they got even.

The Walleyes had a prime opportunity to sweep the twinbill at Larson Field with the Yakima Valley Peppers, leading 1-0 into the seventh inning of the opener. But the Peppers erupted in their final at-bat and went on for a 7-1 victory.

That set the stage for a nightcap in which the Walleyes pounded out 14 hits and took control of the game early, winning 9-4 to keep their Junior American Legion record above the .500 mark at 7-5.

"They swung the bats a lot better," Moses Lake head coach Ed McNamara said of game two. "I don't know what the deal was with the first guy (that pitched for Yakima Valley). It didn't look like he had a lot of stuff but it seemed like the guys were swinging at a lot of high pitches in the strike zone."

The opener went rather quickly as both teams swung early in the count but couldn't muster much offense. The Walleyes scored once in the second inning after Josh Martinez led off with a walk, stole second and scored on Kyle Hickman's single. After that, Moses Lake relied on righthander Troy Stephens, who held the Peppers to four hits in the first six innings and seemed unshakable.

But, down to its last three outs, Yakima Valley quickly found its rhythm, producing five straight hits — including two doubles — to start the seventh. Two more hits and a pair of errors kept the inning going and the Peppers eventually had seven runs by sending 11 batters to the plate.

"We had the one run and Troy seemed to have their number," McNamara said. "And then they just found every nook and cranny."

Yakima Valley limited the Walleyes to five hits in game one, all singles. Kyle Hickman had two of them, with Aaron Morice, Tyler Sage and Jacob Lacelle getting one apiece.

If the Walleyes were a bit shell-shocked following the setback, they didn't show it in game two. They quickly plated two runs in the first inning as Sage and Blaine Myers singled with one out. A passed ball and a wild pitch scored Sage, and Lacelle brought Myers home with double to the gap in left.

Moses Lake increased its lead to 5-0 in the third, getting five straight hits to start the inning. Josh Martinez had a two-run single and Lacelle, who singled, scored on another wild pitch.

The Peppers trimmed their deficit to 5-2 in the fourth, using two singles, a double and a sacrifice fly to break through against Myers.

The Walleyes weren't fazed, getting the two runs back in their half of the fourth. Chris Jackson and Alex Moncada opened the inning with singles, and both scored on sacrifice flies from Sage and Myers, respectively.

After the Peppers scored once in the fifth, Moses Lake made it 9-3 in their half. Troy Stephens and Nick Kimmel each ripped one-out singles. Stephens scored on Moncada's ground ball and Kimmel came in on Morice's single, his third hit of the game.

Morice finished 3 for 4 to lead the Walleyes' offensive output. Sage and Myers each went 2 for 4 with two runs scored.

Myers, who'd struggled in his last outing on the hill, bounced back nicely. The Peppers managed seven hits, but Myers worked out of some jams and — most importantly to McNamara — threw strikes. He walked one batter and hit another.

"He came off a tough performance at West Valley (Yakima) where he walked a lot of guys," McNamara noted. "(He) did a great job, had good control, was really happy with his performance."

The Walleyes open the Bear Bash Tournament Thursday in Spokane, playing at 5:30 p.m. at East Valley High School.