Never-say-die Chiefs off to baseball regionals

Home runs from Sage and Fredericksen keep season alive

RICHLAND — Three times over the weekend the Moses Lake Chiefs fell behind in Columbia Basin League District Baseball Tournament elimination games, and three times the Chiefs rallied for wins that earned them the second seed to Tuesday's regional tournament.

The Chiefs travel to Gonzaga Prep to take on the Ferris Saxons Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.

Moses Lake began the tournament with a 3-1 win over the Walla Walla Blue Devils. Moses Lake then lost 11-1 in the semifinals to the league and eventual district-champion Richland Bombers, forcing the Chiefs into the consolation bracket of the tournament.

Moses Lake downed the Wenatchee Panthers 6-5 to avoid elimination, then topped the Davis Pirates 6-4 to secure second place in the CBL and a trip to regionals.

"We've played in quite a few close games this year," said Moses Lake coach Ed McNamara.

"We've really tried to talk to the kids about the mental game," added the Moses Lake coach. "That part has really helped us quite a bit."

In the game for second place Saturday, Davis led 3-1 after two innings. With their pitching staff depleted, Blaine Myers was sent to the mound to start against the Pirates. Myers, who pitched only in a limited role for Moses Lake during the regular season, kept Moses Lake in the game through four innings. After a bit of trouble early, Myers settled down to get some key outs for Moses Lake, allowing the Chiefs to go to reliever Chase Hunter in the fifth.

Hunter allowed a run in the fifth, but in the bottom half of the inning Moses Lake's bats would strike and strike hard.

Tyler Sage tied the game with a line-drive home run to center field that made the score 4-4. Brett Fredericksen followed with a solo shot that gave the Chiefs the lead and put them just six outs from their first regional berth since climbing to the 4A ranks.

Hunter got the final six outs without allowing a run, and Moses Lake added an insurance run in the sixth to seal the deal and send the Pirates packing.

Aaron Morice also starred for the Chiefs offensively, going 4 for 4 with three runs scored and an RBI against the Pirates.

Earlier Saturday, Moses Lake took on Wenatchee in a loser-out matchup. Wenatchee jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first inning, but the Chiefs put together a four-run third inning that gave them control of the game. The Chiefs added two runs in the fifth for a 6-1 lead, but the Panthers stormed back with four unanswered runs to make it a 6-5 game.

In the seventh, Wenatchee started a one-out rally with back-to-back base hits, but Hunter got the next two Panther batters to fly out to end the game.

Lacelle led the Chiefs' attack against Wenatchee, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs. Hitchcock was 2 for 3 with a double, while Troy Stephens and Sage each had multi-hit games against the Panthers.

After a stretch of games in which the Moses Lake hitters had not got much done at the plate, McNamara was pleased his team's bats come alive Saturday.

"The last four games (of the regular season) we had struggled swinging the bat," said McNamara. "I was just really happy to see our guys start swinging the bat."

Moses Lake opened district tournament play with a loser-out game against Walla Walla Friday. The Chiefs fell behind 1-0 in the fourth inning, but came back to tie the game at one in the fifth inning and take a 3-2 lead with a pair of runs in the sixth. Myers, Lacelle and Brett Fredericksen each had RBIs against Walla Walla, giving Chiefs' starter Corey Hitchcock all the run support he would need.

Hitchcock went all seven innings for Moses Lake, scattering six hits while striking out five to eliminate Walla Walla from the tournament. Hitchcock out-dueled Blue Devils' ace Nick Jordan, who's 1.86 ERA during the season was tops among regular starters in the CBL.

From there, the Chiefs went immediately back to the diamond to face the Richland Bombers in the semifinals. Moses Lake was defeated 11-1 as Richland broke the game open with eight runs in the second inning. The Chiefs mustered just three hits against the now 20-2 Bombers.