Moses Lake's woes continue in loss

BEND, Ore. — The Bend offense got to Moses Lake starting pitcher Zane Bator early Tuesday night and the Pirates fell to 0-18 in West Coast League play following a 6-3 loss to the Elks.

Bend got onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning, capitalizing on a pair of hits to jump on the Pirates 1-0.

The Elks added another run in the second to take a 2-0 lead.

After Bator gave up runs in the first two innings Tuesday night, the Moses Lake native settled down to keep the Elks scoreless through his final two innings of work.

Moses Lake head coach Steve Keller said he was proud of the way Bator responded following the first and second innings.

“Zane went and battled for us but (he) threw a lot of pitches,” Keller said.

Although the Pirates trailed early in Tuesday night’s contest, Moses Lake challenged Bend in the third. The Pirates loaded the bases with no outs in the third before Bend was able to get three straight outs to preserve their 2-0 lead.

Moses Lake consistently threatened to capture their first win of the season Tuesday night, rallying to tie the game in the top of the fourth.

Moses Lake shortstop Chris Casazza popped out to the start the inning before Jye Lanphere reached base following a strike out when Bend catcher Jordan Hadlock dropped the third strike. However, Hadlock managed to redeem himself when he caught Lanphere attempting to steal second.

With two outs in the top of the fourth, Moses Lake third baseman Brady McGuire hit a deep fly ball.

McGuire hustled around the bases as a Bend outfielder misread the ball off McGuire’s bat and the Pirate cruised into third base with a triple.

McGuire then scored on another wild pitch from Bend starting pitcher Jordan Remer to cut the lead to 2-1.

McGuire provided a spark for the Moses Lake offense and Keller said his third baseman was a force in the field as well.

“Brady McGuire played some quality third base for us,” he said.

The Pirates managed to load the bases with two outs in the fourth before tying the contest when Brock Gates drove in the inning’s second run.

Gates finished the game 2-for-4 with a pair of singles for the Pirates.

After Bator pitched four solid innings in the start, Keller turned to relief pitcher Billy Armstrong to pitch the fifth.

Armstrong struggled in one inning of relief, allowing the Elks to take a 5-2 lead over the Pirates.

Following Armstrong’s work in the fifth, Keller brought in Miles Scribner to finish the game for the Pirates.

Scribner allowed just one score — a run in the sixth — to close out the game for the Pirates.

Although Moses Lake surrendered six runs in the loss, Keller said he was proud of his pitchers’ performances.

“We just threw a lot of pitches in situations where we could have minimized innings,” Keller said. “Miles Scribner came in the sixth. (Scribner) challenged the hitters and made good pitches.”

The Pirates were unable to close the gap in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings before challenging the Elks in the top of the ninth.

Moses Lake loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth inning.

Outfielder Richie Allen drew a base on balls to lead off the ninth before Nate Bobrowski was hit by a pitch.

With runners on first and second, first baseman Seth Anderson dropped a surprise bunt down the third baseline, beating the throw to first to load the bases with an infield single.

Despite loading the bases with no outs, the Pirates managed just one run in the top of the ninth and Moses Lake dropped their 18th straight game with the 6-3 loss.

Although Moses Lake dropped to 0-18 to start the 2009 season, Keller said he is encouraged by his team’s performance.

“We have been playing very well,” he said. “I have been proud of them (all season). Everyday they are showing up at the yard, ready to play and that’s all you could ask for in a stretch like this. The game is beating us up right now and it wants to see if we can come back everyday, ready to play.”