Chiefs open non-league baseball schedule with 2-0 start

MOSES LAKE — Donnie Lindgren told his team if they moved Josh Williams over to third after the pitching change in the bottom of the ninth, he was calling for the squeeze play.

True to his word, sophomore first baseman Dax Lindgren squared, Williams, who hit a lead-off double, took off for the plate. Woodinville reliever Trent Boyd couldn’t have served it up any better if he would have placed it on a tee, giving Lindgren a waist-high fastball.

“To tell you the truth, I was just trying to get it on the ground,” the left-handed first baseman said.

Williams beat the throw to the plate and the Chiefs (2-0) ushered in the Donnie Lindgren era with its second win of the season 4-3 over the Falcons Saturday afternoon at Larson Playfield.

For the second day in a row, the bottom half of the lineup produced. The Chiefs had five hits from their 7-8-9 hitters the day before in a 7-1 victory over Graham Kapowsin. On Saturday, Williams, who was 2-for-3, doubled to lead off the ninth inning hitting out of the nine hole. Gabe Passey moved him over with a bunt single, and Lindgren produced the game-winning RBI.

“I just went up looking for a way to get on base and he gave me a fastball right down the middle,” Williams said on his final at-bat. “Dax did a good job getting the ball down. We’ve been playing together since we were nine, so we pretty much know what we can do.”

It’s been just two non-league games, but Lindgren likes what he sees in his young team that has just six seniors.

“I’ve been with most of these guys (during summer ball) a long time. They stay level headed and they play to the end,” said Lindgren, who is in his first season as the Moses Lake head coach. “They know it’s not over ‘til it’s over and they know they’re going to win.”

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Moses Lake 003 000 001 - 4 8 1

HITS: Gabe Passey, Dominic Signorelli (2), Evan McLean, Zach Valdez, Josh Williams. 2B - Signorelli, Williams

Moses Lake 7, Graham Kapowsin 1

Vance Alvarado had a perfect game through the first three innings, finishing up a 5-inning stint with three strikeouts, no walks, while scattering two hits.

The defense was perfect, making all the plays without error, holding Kapowsin to just the one run in the top half of the fourth inning.

“I was just working on location today and making sure I was working inside-outside with consistency,” Alvarado said. “I have a really good defense behind me, so I just need to throw strikes. Once I get my other pitches down, I know I can throw even better.”

The Chiefs’ offense was sound, producing nine hits, all singles. Evan McLean (RBI), Cody Goodwin and Cody Alvarado (RBI) had a couple of hits apiece.

“I was really pleased with the no errors in the first game of the season,” Lindgren said. “(Kapowsin) put the ball in play a lot and we made every play with confidence. We worked on a couple of pick-off plays. We worked our bunt defense. We did it all.

“This is a group of guys that’s played so much baseball and they know what they’re doing.”

McLean went 2-for-2, scored twice and drew a base on balls for the Chiefs, who scored three in the second inning and never trailed.

In fact, the Chiefs had a great deal of production from the bottom half of the lineup with the 7-8-9 guys producing five of the nine hits. Emmitt Tatum had some nifty base running, scoring twice as a pinch runner for Goodwin, then scoring for a third time after legging out an infield hit as a pinch runner in the sixth.

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Moses Lake 030 021 X - 790

S. Manase (4.1), T. Wheeler (1.2) and S. Britton; Vance Alvarado (5), Ezekyel Ochoa (2.0) and Cody Goodwin. HITS: Evan McLean (2), Cody Goodwin (2), Cody Alvarado (2), Dominic Signorelli, Emmitt Tatum, Josh Williams.