Pirates clobber Elks

MOSES LAKE — So much for a few games of struggling bats.

MOSES LAKE — So much for a few games of struggling bats. The Moses Lake Pirates not only got back on track Monday night in front of 522 fans at Larson Field in their first of three games against the West Coast League (WCL) West Division-leading Bend Elks but they did so with a resounding announcement consisting of a season-high in runs.

 Behind two five-run innings the Pirates (19-18 overall, 15-16 in WCL) routed the Elks 13-3 to pull within three games of the Wenatchee Apple Sox in the East Division while moving two games ahead of Kelowna for second place and a playoff spot if the season were to end today. A lot of runs against Bend was a distinct possibility for the Pirates, who lost two of three against the Elks in Oregon in June as the teams were involved in some high-octane offensive battles. But this evening it was Moses Lake’s night to dominate. Bend (24-11) led 1-0 going into the bottom of the third inning but the Pirates answered with two runs thanks to a Bryndon Ecklund (Seattle University) single, an Austin Shackelford (University of Utah) double, and an Elks error. Then the floodgates opened. Moses Lake scored five runs in the fourth inning behind four hits — singles by Nate Roberts (Seattle University), Josh Rapacz (George Fox University), Duncan Blades (Salt Lake CC), and Nick Frederick (Pomona College) — and two walks, to take a 7-1 lead. The margin was enough to earn Pirates starting pitcher Leo Rosetti (Pomona College) the win. Rosetti finished with 5.1 innings thrown and three strikeouts with three runs allowed. Relievers Tyler Druffel (Big Bend CC) and Tony Smith (Eastern New Mexico University) combined to record 11 outs against three hits and one walk allowed while striking out seven. Moses Lake added a run in the sixth with back-to-back triples by Blades and Frederick before another five-run outburst two at-bats later. In their half of the eighth, Moses Lake recorded another fiver behind six hits. Shackelford, Blades, Frederick, Michael Bush (Lewis and Clark College), and Roberts hit five consecutive singles before Tylor Pavel (Wenatchee Valley College) put the icing on the cake with a two-RBI double to create the 10-run margin. Tonight the two teams will battle in the series’ second game with a 7:35 p.m. first pitch.