Big sweep on road for Sun Devils

A sweep of two high scoring games against East Valley on Tuesday has propelled the Moses Lake Sun Devils’ Junior American Legion team to a record of 18-8.

YAKIMA — A sweep of two high scoring games against East Valley on Tuesday has propelled the Moses Lake Sun Devils’ Junior American Legion team to a record of 18-8.

The Sun Devils defeated the hosts 9-6 and 11-10 with late inning heroics to cement each win.

“The team is playing well right now,” Sun Devils coach Quintz Whitaker said. “East Valley gave us a chance and we took advantage of it.”

In the opener, Moses Lake built a 6-3 lead through three innings before East Valley charged back to cut the gap to 7-6 going into the sixth.

The Sun Devils then scored two runs in their half of the seventh inning to pull away for the win.

Moses Lake recorded 13 hits and included performances by Brad Fox (4-for-5, three doubles, three RBI), Jacob Price (2-for-2, RBI), Jordan Hooper (2-for-4, two RBI), and Uli Montoya (2-for-4).

Elliott Sage earned the win with 4.2 innings of work despite giving up six runs. Hector Zavala recorded the save with 2.1 innings of scoreless pitching which included three strikeouts.

In the dramatic nightcap, the Sun Devils rallied from an 8-4 deficit heading into their half of the seventh inning, where they exploded with seven runs and then survived a last-ditch-effort by East Valley in the bottom half of the frame.

Moses Lake was aided by five walks and three hit batters during the pivotal final inning.

Mason Mathews earned the win out of the bullpen with 3.2 innings from the mound while Jason Gonzalez got the last two East Valley outs for the save.

Hooper went 3-fo-3 with a triple and two RBI as Fox went 2-for-4 with three runs scored.

“It may not have been pretty but it worked out, “Whitaker said. “We need to improve on some small things like defensive communication and baserunning but we will get there.”