Sun Devils sweep Wildcats

SPOKANE — The Moses Lake Sun Devils baseball team traveled to Spokane, Wash., Monday and returned to the Columbia Basin with a doubleheader sweep.

The Sun Devils jumped on top of the Wildcats early, taking a 5-0 lead after two innings before Mt. Spokane rallied in the bottom of the second.

The Wildcats scored seven runs in the second to take a 7-5 lead over the visiting Sun Devils.

After the Sun Devils surrendered seven runs in the second, Moses Lake head coach Quintz Whitaker turned to pitcher Elliott Sage.

Sage kept the Wildcats scoreless in five innings of work but Mt. Spokane took the 7-5 lead into the top of the fifth inning.

With the Wildcats leading late in the contest, the Sun Devils were able to cut the lead to 7-6 with a run in the top of the fifth.

Moses Lake kept the Wildcats scoreless in the home half of the fifth inning before scoring three runs in the top of the sixth to reclaim the lead at 9-7.

The Sun Devils broke game one of the doubleheader open in the top of the seventh, scoring eight runs to take a commanding 17-7 lead. Sage kept the Wildcats scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to record the victory.

Moses Lake’s Devin Juarez led the Sun Devils at the plate in game one, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Nate Steffler went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and Alex Fick went 1-for-3 with a double and three runs scored.

After rallying to blow out the Wildcats in game one, the Sun Devils picked up right where they left off in game two.

Led by an RBI double from Nick Laszlo, the Sun Devils jumped on the Wildcats for seven runs in the second inning of game two.

Following Moses Lake’s seven-run outburst in the second, starting pitcher Drake Harden stayed composed.

Harden kept the Wildcats guessing throughout game two, recording eight strike outs on his way to a one-hitter.

Moses Lake continued to pour it on offensively in game two and Harden led a solid defense to a 16-0 victory.

With the sweep of Mt. Spokane, the Sun Devils improved to 17-13 this season.

The Sun Devils have continued to improve this season but Whitaker said his team needs to work on consistency.

“Today was the best day we have had swinging the bats against quality pitching. Now we just have to work at doing those things every at bat (and) on a consistent basis,” he said. “We definitely have things we can improve on, but the trust and teamwork are coming around.”

The Sun Devils will play their next game in Moses Lake July 11 when they compete in the Moses Lake Wood Bat Sizzler tournament.