TACOMA, Wash. - Playing their first games at a renovated Logger
Field, the Puget Sound Loggers swept past the Whitworth Pirates,
18-5 and 17-4, in a Northwest Conference baseball doubleheader on
Saturday afternoon at Logger Field in Tacoma, Wash.
In the first game, the Loggers got on the board in the bottom of
the first when Devin Black (Evergreen, Colo.) singled up the middle
to score Dakota Resnik (Bellevue, Wash./Newcastle). The Loggers
blew the game open in the bottom of the second as Andrew Grady
(Cave Creek, Ariz./Phoenix Country Day) singled in Doug Cox
(Kailua, Hawaii) to make it 2-0 and by the time to Loggers were
done hitting, the score stood at 7-0. Resnik also picked up an RBI
and both Mark Rockey (Mountlake Terrace, Wash./New Mexico) and
David Thirlby (Seattle, Wash./O'Dea) drove in a pair of runs.
Whitworth scored in the top of the third when Dan Belet hit a
two-run home run down the left field line to score Kevin Valerio as
well but the Loggers answered back again in the bottom of the
third, exploding for six more runs on six more hits. Gregg Ringold
(Los Altos Huills, Calif./Harker School) drove in the first run and
Resnik, Chaz Kramer (Boulder, Colo./Silver Creek), Thirlby and Will
Mentor (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep) would also drive in runs
during the inning.
Puget Sound added another run in the bottom of the fourth on a
Black home run to left field and then the Loggers added three more
on a three-run home run by Ringold in the seventh inning. Whitworth
played to the end, plating three runs in the top of the ninth but
the deficit was too great as the Loggers collected the 18-5 win in
the NWC opener.
Tim Fogarty (Pacifica, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral) collect
the win and earned a complete game, striking out one and walking
one in nine innings pitched. Peter Birdwell took the loss for
Whitworth, allowing seven runs on seven hits with four strikeouts
and three walks in two innings pitched. Six Loggers had multiple
hits in the game, including Ringold, who finished the game
five-for-five from the plate with four runs scores and four RBIs.
Switching to their red alternate jerseys, the Pirates hoped for
better luck in the second game but the Loggers' home whites still
had some pop left in them. Whitworth got on the board in the top of
the first when Chad Flett singled through the right side to score
Luis Tovar but the Pirate lead would be short-lived. In the bottom
of the second, the Loggers took the led on a two-RBI single by
Ringold that scored both Jason Powell (Redwood City, Calif./Sacred
Heart Prep) and Mentor. Rockey made it 6-0 with a one-out grand
slam to right center that drove in Black, Ringold, and Grady as
well.
Ringold picked up two more RBIs on a triple in the third that
gave UPS the 8-0 lead and Resnik followed that with a two-run home
run that scored Ringold. The Logger bats came alive once again in
the sixth as Puget Sound pummeled the Pirates for seven runs on six
hits, including a pair of RBIs from Mentor, Resnik and Rockey.
Whitworth added another run in the top of the eighth as Tovar
scored on a Flett fielders choice. Two more Pirate runs would
come across in the top of the ninth but, as was the case in the
first game, it was much too little, too late.
Cameron Duvall (Lakewood, Wash./Lakes) got the win for UPS,
allowing just two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts in eight
innings pitched. Collin Gibbs shouldered the loss for
Whitworth, allowing 10 runs on eight hits with three strikeouts in
four innings pitched. Just like the first game, six Loggers
had multiple hits in the nightcap. Rockey was three-for-five
with six RBIs while Resnick was three-for-four in game two to go
six-for-eight on the day with five total runs and six RBIs.
The Loggers and Bucs will be at it again on Sunday as they
conclude their four-game NWC series with a pair of seven-inning
games. First pitch is set for 11:00 a.m. at Logger Field in
Tacoma.
Box Scores: Game
One/Game
Two
