Sixers 16U-Lopez split four games at home tourney

MOSES LAKE — The Central Washington Sixers 16U-Lopez (6-7) went 2-2 in the High Desert Invitational held at Paul Lauzier Athletic Complex. 

“It was kind of disappointing not coming out with the championship, playing in our own backyard,” said Head Coach Rey Lopez. “But sometimes that happens. Pretty satisfied with 2-2 record, I think we could have pulled it off, but we fell a little short.”  

The Sixers started slow on Friday, falling to the Devo Lumberkings 16U 5-3. However, they rallied on Saturday with a 10-4 win over the New Level Diamond Jaxx and a 5-2 win over the Lumberkings on Sunday. Though their newfound momentum would not carry over into their final game against the Spokane Crew 16U, which they lost to 9-1.

“Overall, happy with the team and where we're at. We're kind of hoping to get a couple days off, then coming back strong,” Lopez said. 

Lumberkings 16U (Friday) 

Despite the loss, the Sixers showed zero quit through seven innings. Cash Curtis pitched just over two innings, allowing two hits, two runs and struck out three batters. From there, Lopez made the switch to Eddie Gonzalez before eventually calling on Joaquin Hernandez to close out the rest of the game.  

Heading into the top of the seventh, the Sixers trailed 5-0. With one last opportunity to get the offense rolling, they made one more push. Krue Judkins got home off a single line drive to left field by Xavier Guzman. From there, Guzman and Carson Valdez also got home to cut the score to 5-3.  

Despite their best efforts, they were unable to pull off the comeback and fell in their first game of the weekend.  

“We didn't hit the ball early in the game, but towards the end there we kind of rallied,” said the coach. “Once we got things going, we were able to offensively to actually hit the pitcher that they threw against us, he pitched pretty well, but like I said, we fell short.”  

Diamond Jaxx 

The Sixers went into Saturday with a chance to reset and gain some momentum. After the Diamond Jaxx took a 2-0 lead, the Sixers responded with five runs in the top of the second inning. Hernandez, Judkins, Guzman, Cade Chlarson and Cannon Delong all got home to claim a 5-2 lead.  

However, the Diamond Jaxx made things interesting with two more runs in the bottom of the second, making it a one run game. While the Sixers added a single run in the third and fourth innings, Chlarson held it down on the mound, holding them scoreless for the rest of the game.  

Curtis, Hernandez and Delong added three more runs to solidify a 10-4 win in five innings. 

“The bats came alive, and we were able to get some runners on base and be able to put a lot of runs on (the board),” Lopez said.  

Lumberkings (Sunday) 

Heading into Sunday, the Sixers had a chance to redeem Friday’s result as they faced the Lumberkings once again.  

After two scoreless innings by both teams, the Sixers jumped on the board with three runs by Judkins, Guzman and Charles Poirrier. The Lumberkings defense slowed the momentum slightly, only allowing two more runs the rest of the game.  

But that would not be enough as Curtis’s pitching efforts for five innings held them scoreless. He allowed just three hits, zero runs and struck out 11 batters, taking a jump from Friday’s game.  

“He's the ace. When he's on, he's on,” Lopez said. 

After seven innings, the Sixers avenged their loss with a 5-2 win, which also put them back in the winner’s bracket, the coach said.  

Spokane Crew 16U 

The Sixers momentum was halted when they ran into the Spokane Crew 16U. After a four run inning in the bottom of the second, the Sixers trailed 4-0. They held the Crew scoreless in the third, allowing them to get on the board with a single run in the top of the fourth.  

However, the Crew bounced back with five more runs and shut out the Sixers offense in the top of the fifth to seal the win.  

“That's a really good ball club,” Lopez said. “We had several errors during that game that I think cost us probably more than half of those runs, and then they had a pitcher that had pretty good velocity, and we could not put the bat on the ball, and we struggled offensively.”  

Despite the end result not going their way, the coach was pleased with how the Sixers played throughout the weekend. Another highlight for them was their ability to steal bases. By the end of the tournament, the Sixers had successfully stolen a base 21 times. This is a strategy Lopez and his Sixers team lean into to get players home and runs on the board, he said.  

“We're kind of struggling at the plate,” he said. “So that gives us an advantage, so when we have a runner at second base or third base, all we got to do is put the ball in play, and with the speed that we have we can score a runner easily from second base.”  

As they move forward, Lopez plans to focus on improving offensive production at the plate as they prepare for the Washington State Championships June 25-28 in Puget Sound.  

BOX SCORES:  

Friday 

SXRS: 0-0-0-0-0-0-3: 3 

DVLM: 2-0-0-1-0-2-X: 5 

Saturday 

SXRS: 0-5-1-1-3: 10 

DJXX: 2-2-0-0-0: 4 

Sunday 

Game one: 

DVLM: 0-0-0-0-0-0-2: 2 

SXRS: 0-0-3-0-1-1-X: 5 

Game two: 

SXRS: 0-0-0-1-0: 1 

SPKN: 0-4-0-5-X: 9

    Cannon Delong (4) fields a ground ball before turning to throw it the first baseman against the Devo Lumberkings 16U, Friday.
  

    Carson Valdez (11) leads off first base against the Devo Lumberkings, Friday. The Sixers 16U-Lopez tallied 21 stolen bases by the end of the High Desert Invitational.
  

    Krue Judkins drops his bat after hitting a line drive against the Devo Lumberkings 16U, Friday while at bat for the Central Washington Sixers 16U-Lopez squad.