Walleyes come back to split with Flames
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Walleyes second baseman Brent Mendenhall tags out Hanford runner Sam Jones to end the first inning in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Larson Playfield.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake designated hitter Matt Vasquez (5) lays down a sacrifice bunt to move the runner during the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Larson Playfield. The Walleyes lost 4-3 to Hanford.
MOSES LAKE — The beauty of baseball is that you play so many games, you can just throw the bad ones out and try and play better in the next one.
The Moses Lake Walleyes committed eight errors in the opener of Tuesday’s doubleheader with the Hanford Flames, falling 4-3 at Larson Playfield.
But it was a totally different story in the nightcap. Clayton Fisk’s walk-off drove in Brent Mendenhall for the winning run in the ninth inning to give the Walleyes a 6-5 victory.
The Walleyes (4-16) scored two runs in the sixth to tie it, then pushed the winning run across in the ninth for their fourth win of the season. They have won four of their last six, so they are starting to play better ball as the season moves on.
“I thought we were ready to turn the corner. We took a step back in the first one,” Walleyes manager Chase Tunstall said. “We’re pretty young, so this was a big win for us. But we compete hard and we’re getting better.”
Blake Pugh finished with three RBIs in the nightcap.
Flames 4, Walleyes 3
Andrew Frey stroked an RBI double in the first inning and Radley Greer drove in a run in the bottom of the second to give the Walleyes the early 2-0 lead. But things turned in the third inning when the defensive lapses led to two Flames runs to tie things up at 2-2.
“Blake Pugh only threw 61 pitches, so I can only imagine how he could have finished without eight errors behind him,” Tunstall said. “We had too many strike-three calls with runners in scoring position. We left a lot of runners.”
J.C. Worsham drove a ball into the gap in right-center field for a triple to lead off the sixth inning and scored when C.J. Ramirez grounded out to the right side. But they comeback effort came up a tad short for the Walleyes.
Pugh went the distance on the mound and contained the Flames, who scored four runs on six hits. All four runs were unearned. The right-hander had a solid outing.
Andrew Frey went 2-for-4. Worsham had two hits, including the triple that helped close the game in the sixth. Sawyer Jenks drove the ball well, but just couldn’t find the gap.
The Walleyes host Prosser on Friday at Larson Playfield. The first game of the doubleheader starts at 5:30 p.m.