MLHS bests Sunnyside in Friday doubleheader

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Mavericks triumphed in their doubleheader against Sunnyside on Friday afternoon, winning the first game 11-1 and the second 10-0 with a walk-off by Noah Hernandez. 

“We got up early, like seven-nothing, our pitchers continued to throw strikes, our defense did a great job and then we finished it off on a 10-run rule in the first game just like we did in the second one on a walk-off,” said Mavs head coach Donnie Lindgren. 

The Mavs started off the first game with four hits in a row, scoring four runs in the first inning and setting the tone for the night as the pitchers, Cooper Hancock and Dagen Enquis,t continued to shut down Sunnyside, only allowing one run in two games, said Lindgren. 

Lindgren said there was a moment where Hancock worked himself out of a jam in the first game. The bases were loaded with no outs, and he was able to come out of that with no runs. 

“We’ve been really good at being trained in those situations by our pitching coach, by Rick (Baldini) and Donnie,” said Hancock. “Donnie kind of looked up, came out there and he goes, ‘Hey, I know you’ve got the fire in you, I know you’ve got a bulldog in you, show it to me.’ And so that’s what I just kept, I knew the guys behind me had my back.” 

Hancock said he gave full credit to his coaching staff for getting him prepared for a moment like that and for making the team tough and cohesive overall. 

“I’ve been on Varsity since I was a freshman and they’ve done a good job at putting us in those situations that really do keep us in it and give me energy,” said Hancock. 

To Lindgren, a major key to success in these games was ensuring that their first hitters were getting on base at the start of each inning. Once their lead hitter is on first, they can then focus on their running game, bunting game and make more offensive moves. 

“The last couple games, we had to score a couple runs with two outs and things because we didn’t get our lead-off guys on,” he said. 

Lindgren said one thing he wants the team to work on is making sure that they keep their energy up for every inning, even when they are up by a considerable margin like they were today.  

“As we move through league, seven runs is going to be hard to even come by with the teams that we’re going to be facing,” said Lindgren. “We’ve just got to continue to do the little things, play defense behind our pitchers to keep the pitch count down and get on base and steal a few bases.” 

The Mavs prepare to play against Eisenhower, who will be coming off of a bye when they face each other. With this, the Mavs have not had a chance to scout them out and will have to base their game plan on what they saw over the summer and what they’ve seen in the past. 

“But you know we always talk about, we play against ourselves and challenge ourselves to be as close to perfect as we can every game,” said Lindgren. 

The Mavs play Eisenhower today at 4 p.m. on the Larson Play Fields. 

MAVS 2025 BASEBALL ROSTER

Player, Jersey, Grade 

Wyatt Cole, 1, 12 

Dagen Enquist, 2, 10 

Maddox Herrud, 3, 10 

Kolby Lyons, 4, 10 

Holden Koziol, 5, 12 

Noah Hernandez, 7, 11 

Jacoby Mugnos, 8, 9 

Jackson Carlos, 9, 12 

Hayden Meek, 10, 12 

Daniel Baez, 11, 11 

Cruz Martinez, 12, 12 

Adrian Martinez, 16, 12 

Cooper Hancock, 20, 12 

Jacoby Fulbright, 21, 10 

Nolan Decubber, 22, 9 

Kason Whitaker, 23, 12 

Jonny Purcell, 24, 9