Valdez's gem, timely bats help Moses Lake beat Wenatchee

MOSES LAKE — Location, location, location.

The real estate axiom works pretty well for baseball, too.

Austin Valdez came one strike away from a complete game shutout and, coupled with timely hitting, Moses Lake beat Wenatchee 5-0.

“Austin threw great,” head coach Quintz Whitaker said. “He's just awesome. He locates, locates, locates to keep guys off balance and he was sharp with that today. He really pitched well.”

Valdez scattered two hits and faced an 0-and-2 count with two outs in the seventh inning before he reached his pitch limit. Jordan Rios came in for an economical one-pitch relief appearance to induce a game-ending pop out.

Overall, it was Moses Lake's (9-4, 9-6) most complete game in the field. Not only was Valdez dominant from the mound, but his defense consistently made the routine put-outs and 50-50 plays that can shift a game.

Most notably, an over the should catch in right field by Josh Williams that — had the ball dropped — would have surely meant extra bases.

“I knew I could get after them,” Valdez said. “My defense was great behind me. I had a lot of confidence in them so I pitched to contact and I trusted them.”

Both teams exchanged goose eggs through the first three innings. In the fourth, Wenatchee was able to manufacture runners on the corners with two outs, however, a fly ball to right field ended the threat.

Conversely, Moses Lake capitalized on its chance in the home half.

Caleb Juarez hit a one-out single and Brandon Swett was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base. With a pitchers' duel unfolding, the Chiefs ramped up their aggressiveness and Juarez stole third base. Next, a throw down to second on a double steal allowed Juarez to trot home for the game's first run.

“If you can pitch and defend, you're going to keep yourselves in the game,” Whitaker said. “Yeah, they might be close games, you might have to find a way to score a run at the end, but at least you give yourself a fighting chance and we did a good job of that today.”

Ezekyel Ochoa, at the plate with some pressure lifted, smacked an opposite field triple that scored Swett. Lauded by his teammates just a few feet away in the home dugout, Ochoa clapped his hands vigorously after sprinting the 270 feet.

“The big hits, those extra base hits when you can drive the ball somewhere, have a huge affect on confidence, especially at the high school level,” Whitaker said.

That confidence extended into the fifth inning. Dominic Signorelli provided a couple insurance runs with a RBI double to left-center field and later scored on a balk.

Pitching with the lead, Valdez surrendered one base runner over the final two innings.

“It's always comforting as a pitcher to get some run support,” Valdez said. “It's great. It gives me a lot more confidence.”

Box score

Highlights:

• Valez 6 2/3 IP, 0 R
• Ochoa 1 RBI, 3B
• Signorelli 2 RBI, 1 R, 2B