Chiefs split doubleheader against visiting Eastmont
Moses Lake High School's Blaine Macdonald is met by his teammates at third base after Macdonald brought in the winning run for the Chiefs in the bottom of the eleventh inning on Friday afternoon in Moses Lake.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald
Blaine Macdonald rushes to celebrate with his teammates after hitting in the winning run in the 11th inning against Eastmont High School on Friday afternoon at Larsen Playfield in Moses Lake.
Seth Olson knocks a hit for Moses Lake as the Chiefs mount a comeback in the first game of the doubleheader versus Eastmont High School on Friday afternoon at Larsen Playfield.
Moses Lake High School's Leo Cortez rounds third base toward home on his way to scoring the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh inning for the Chiefs on Friday afternoon at Larsen Playfield.
Moses Lake first baseman watches in the throw as he looks to make the out late in the first game of the doubleheader against Eastmont High School on Friday in Moses Lake.
Moses Lake High School's Merit Jansen throws a pitch late in the first game of the Friday doubleheader against Eastmont at Larsen Playfield in Moses Lake.
Moses Lake High School’s baseball team split a series with Eastmont High School on Friday night at Larson Playfield in Moses Lake.
The Chiefs found themselves behind early in the first game, trailing 3-1 after the first inning. Seth Olson scored in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 4-4 and force extra innings.
Finally, in the bottom of the 11th, Blaine MacDonald’s single brought in Leo Cortez to hand the Chiefs a 5-4 win.
Jackson Purcell and Asher Lindgren both notched multiple hits. Merit Jansen pitched, surrendering no runs on three hits with four strikeouts.
Moses Lake found themselves in another early hole in the second game, falling behind 5-0 before bringing in a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Chiefs scored again in the sixth but were unable to come back, falling 5-3.
Zane Harden finished 1-3 for the Chiefs with a pair of RBIs. Moses Lake head coach Donnie Lindgren said he was glad to see his team fight back after some early defensive mishaps.
“A young team could have just folded up and hung their heads, but instead they stayed in the game and we came out ahead, which is big,” Lindgren said. “Instead of just giving up, we continued to fight and came away with a big win.”
Lindgren said his team didn’t have the momentum he thought they’d have in the second game, struggling to capitalize on base runners after giving up runs to defensive again. He said he told his players that was a mistake on his part, not having them ready to go.
The Chiefs will wrap up their season this Friday with another doubleheader, hosting conference rival Wenatchee High School. Lindgren said he wants his team to prepare like it’s a typical final weekend.
“We’re gonna act like it’s a league championship thing; we’ve got to win to get in and have them visualize that part because it always comes down to that last weekend in our league,” Lindgren said.
