Chiefs lose a pair at home
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Kameron Huberdeau lays down a bunt against Graham-Kapowsin.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake center fielder Cameron Duke slides home and scores against Graham-Kapowsin.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake pitcher Jordan Rios works against Graham-Kapowsin.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake shortstop Ezekyel Ochoa throws to first base against Graham-Kapowsin.
MOSES LAKE — There's nothing like starting the season against two quality teams to prepare for league play.
Moses Lake hosted Graham-Kapowsin and Woodinville — a team that finished fourth in state in 2016 — this past weekend for its non-league slate, losing both. The Chiefs' pitchers were knocked around in both games as the Eagles won 8-1 and the Falcons won 10-0 in five innings.
“The nice thing about having them (Graham-Kapowsin) come over is, like you said, they have some pretty good athletes,” head coach Quintz Whitaker said. “We get a chance to see some guys who can run, we get a chance to see some guys who can hit. It was nice seeing a lot of left-handed stuff tonight — we need to work on that.”
Against the Eagles, Moses Lake took an early lead, 1-0, in the first inning. Cameron Duke and Caleb Juarez both walked before an RBI single by Cody Goodwin. Brandon Swett followed Goodwin's knock with an infield single to load the bases with one out.
However, the Chiefs were unable to add any more runs with the bases loaded, which proved to be a recurring theme. Moses Lake also loaded the bases in the third inning with two outs before Jordan Rios popped out.
“We felt like early our at-bats were pretty good,” Whitaker said. “We drove a run in and had some good, aggressive swings. Later in the game we had a hard time making adjustments. Again, we haven't seen a lot of left-handed pitching... We've got to do a better job and clutch hitting is always a difference-maker in the game so we've got to do what we can to be consistent with getting those hits when we need to in those situations.”
Conversely, the Graham-Kapowsin batters delivered with runners in scoring position.
Starting pitcher Richie Gomez helped his own cause with two RBI. Logan Klespitz and Jonah Cilley also drove in a pair of runs for the Eagles.
Saturday, Moses Lake was unable to solve Woodinville starter Bryce Coyne. Coyne pitcher a complete game one-hitter, the lone blemish a come-backer by Rios in the fifth inning that squirted through the middle of the field.
Offensively, the Falcons scored in four consecutive innings to reach 10 runs.
Moses Lake (0-2) opens Columbia Basin Big Nine play Tuesday, 4 p.m., against West Valley.
Score by innings
| ML | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | GK | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
Highlights
- ML — Goodwin 1 RBI
Score by innings
| ML | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | W | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
Highlights
- ML — Rios 1 hit
- W — Coyne 5 IP, one-hitter