Moses Lake completes sweep of Spokane
Ratigan pitches well, Kim pushes average to .400 in Pirate victory
SPOKANE — Ephrata High School graduate Michael Ratigan held Spokane to two runs in six innings, leading the Moses Lake Pirates to a 5-3 win Wednesday night and a three-game sweep of the Spokane RiverHawks at Patterson Field.
Ratigan (1-1) left after giving up two runs in the sixth inning, but got the win thanks to strong relief pitching from Vinny Losorelli, Ben Graham and Daniel Wolford. In three starts this season, Ratigan has an earned-run average of 1.42.
"Michael Ratigan had a good game," Pirates head coach Gabe Boruff said. "He was leaving his stuff up a little bit and he got hit, but he competed."
Spokane drew within 4-3 in the seventh, scoring once against Losorelli. But Graham was as good as gold in the eighth and Wolford was likewise in the ninth, picking up his third save of the season. Wolford has a 1.35 ERA in six appearances this summer.
Zach Kim picked up two more hits to lead Moses Lake's six-hit attack. Kim raised his team-leading batting average to .400, and is one of only four WCCBL players at or above that mark right now.
Steve Tinoco tripled for Moses Lake and Billy Swanson had a key two-out, RBI single in the ninth to pad the lead for Wolford.
The Pirates had a slow start against Spokane starter Luke Farden (0-2), but found their rhythm as the game wore on.
"We had two hits in the first inning but we didn't do anything," Boruff said. "(Farden) was keeping us off balance, but we got our approach back. The kids are really getting better at making adjustments on pitchers in their second and third at-bats."
For the third straight game, Spokane errors also contributed to a Moses Lake victory. The RiverHawks committed two errors Wednesday and totaled 10 for the three-game set.
Moses Lake, however, played strong defense behind its four pitchers. The Pirates turned a pair of double plays, including a crucial one in the ninth after Spokane's leadoff man singled to bring the tying run to the plate. Boruff also noted good defensive plays from Swanson in center field and from Kim at second base.
Clinging to a 4-3 lead in the ninth, Moses Lake got some breathing room after Tinoco coaxed a walk, Ryan Bernsen sacrificed him to second and Swanson delivered a two-out single off Spokane reliever Nick Masters.
"That gave us a little bit of insurance in the ninth and that was pretty crucial," Boruff said.
Moses Lake (9-3) increased its lead over Kelowna to 4 1/2 games in the West Coast Collegiate League's East Division. The Pirates also matched Corvallis, a 4-3 loser at Wenatchee on Wednesday, for the league's best record.
After taking Thursday off, the Pirates face Kelowna Friday at Larson Field to open a three-game series. Moses Lake swept the Falcons in Canada last week.
Ben Guidos gets the start Friday for the Pirates. Dale Reneau will start game two on Saturday and Josh Fish goes on Sunday.