Pirates kick off WCL second half
Drew Martin of the Moses Lake Pirates will take the mound tonight when the club starts their three-game series against the Wenatchee Apple Sox in West Coast League action. The two teams are separated by one game in the East Division as they prepare to go at it at the home of the leading Apple Sox.
Showdown with Apple Sox begins tonight
WENATCHEE — To take things at face value, here is where the Moses Lake Pirates stand in West Coast League (WCL) action as the second-half of their season officially begins tonight in Wenatchee.
Yes, they are one-and-a-half games behind the host Apple Sox (14-11) as the two begin their three-game set which runs through Thursday.
Yes, the Pirates (16-14 overall, 12-12 in WCL play) is on a current season-best seven-game winning streak which includes this past weekend’s sweep of the Portland Toros, a WCL travel team, at Larson Field.
In fact, since starting the season with a 4-8 overall record, the Pirates have won 12 of their last 18 games, and nine of their last 10.
All this while the Apple Sox have struggled as of late, going on one run of losing seven of eight games before winning their two contests against Walla Walla.
What does this all mean after the dust clears on Thursday night?
Not much really.
“The season will not be over with until August 8,” Steve Keller, the Pirates’ head coach said. “It’s too early to call anything make or break. We just got to be ready to play the game and outcomes will take care of themselves.”
The reality is that the Apple Sox could sweep the Pirates and still lose the league three weeks down the road or the Pirates could do the same to capture the top spot in the East and one bad spell could knock them out of playoff contention.
But as WCL teams hit the diamond today the fact does remain that both teams would be in the WCL playoffs if the season were complete as of now.
Still the two teams continue their season series which right now the Apple Sox lead 3-0 after sweeping the Pirates in June at Larson Field.
Wenatchee won the opener 8-1 before the Pirates made things interesting in 3-2 and 3-1 losses.
“Wenatchee is a solid team that could easily get hot and we could easily get cold,” Keller said. “Their pitchers are all quality starters and relievers and they throw good pitches and handle the running game really well. Offensively, they can all bunt one through nine in the lineup and they can hit it to the wall..”
The Pirates are now ranked fourth with a .265 average due to a strong run of offense during their recent run of success.
Trent Johnson (University of Utah) leads the team with a .338 batting average, while Bryndon Ecklund (Seattle University, .328), and Nate Roberts (Seattle University, .327) are hot on his heels.
Nick Frederick (Pomona College) leads the Pirates with two home runs and 21 RBI.
Their pitching, which started off hot in leading the league, has still been strong, standing with a 3.71 ERA, sixth in the WCL.
Moses Lake High School graduate Drew Martin (3-1, 2.60 ERA) starts on the mound tonight against the Apple Sox, while Leo Rosetti (Pomona College, 2-2, 2.95), and Jordan Whitman (Cal Poly Pomona, 1-1, 4.01) are scheduled to make the first pitch for the Pirates on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
Keller believes his starters can get the job done and that his bullpen will be ready to back them up.
“They need to get ready to go and pitch strikes,” Keller said. “They need to come out and be in the moment and throw quality pitches. I think our bullpen stacks up with theirs.”
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