3/30/17

Game 1 Tumwater 5, Rochester 0

Game 2 Tumwater 17, Rochester 6

(Tumwater, WA) The Tumwater T-Birds were looking to stay undefeated and get off to a fast start in the Evco 2A league standings while Rochester also had their sights set on a quick start and hoped to get their record back on the winning side.

In game 1 the story was all about pitching and while Ethan Worden pitched good enough to win on many days for the Warriors going the distance and giving up 5 runs it could not be matched by Logan Chase who also pitched a complete game but Chase gave up only 3 base runners that never got past 1st base and took a no-hitter into the 7th inning.

It did not look like a no-hitter type of game in the 1st inning, despite getting Rochester out 1-2-3, Bryce Lollar led off with a hard rip to center where Tumwater’s Noah Sirkel made a great read of the ball going back and snatching it for the out. Noah Andrews then took up a couple of hot shots at short and gunned them down to Michael Wagar at 1st.

Tumwater would score the winning run in the bottom of the 1st when Andrews walked and then scored on an RBI double by Jackson Davis. Chase then began to bear down and struck out 2 of his 10 K’s in the 2nd and should have had his 2nd 1-2-3 inning but the 3rd strike got by Davis with Bradden Schneider up and Schneider would get on base. This would not be the last time Schneider made a big play in this game.

Tumwater extended their lead in the 4th inning when Logan Hayes led off with a double followed by a walk to Zach Jones. Jakob Holbrook laid down a perfect sac bunt to move the runners over and Andrew Pullar did not waste the opportunity drilling a double into right-center scoring both Hayes and Jones for a 3-0 lead. In the 5th Sirkel added a run with a lead-off home run, a towering shot over the left field fence and the T-Birds would add a run in the 6th when Jakob Holbrook singled, worked his way to 3rd and scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0 heading into the top of the 7th.

In the 7th Logan Chase had given up just 2 base runners, Schneider in the 2nd and a walk. Chase would get his 10th strikeout of the game with the lead-off hitter. Then came Schneider who had struck out twice. Schneider then ripped a base shot to break up the no-no. The irony is Chase would then end the game coaxing a grounder from Worden to Noah Andrews who turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the game with a 1-hitter.

Game 2

The Warriors were looking to immediately get their offense up and rolling and they did just that. Rochester was the home team in the 2nd game so the T-Birds batted first and just like the 1st game scored in a similar fashion. This time Trayten Rodriguez got on 1st after being hit by a pitch from starter Curt Ebeling. Rodriguez stole 2nd and then was driven in by Jackson Davis with an RBI single.

This time the Warriors answered, with 1 out Aaron Huff walked. After a 2nd out it looked T-Bird pitcher Justin Barber might get out of it but Bradden Schneider slapped a hard shot to right-center and Huff was off to the races with the crack of the bat and made it all the way around for the tying run and the 1st run of the day for the Warriors. The throw went to the plate allowing Schneider to get to 2nd and then he scored on Ethan Worden’s RBI single and Rochester led 2-0.

The Warriors extended the lead to 5-1 with a 3-run 2nd inning. Ben Slaymaker got on board after getting hit, he was sacrificed over to 2nd and scored on an RBI double by Cole Wintrip. After a pop-out, Wintrip scored when Huff hit an RBI single. Huff would score again when Chase Edminster belted a double and Rochester was feeling good with a 5-1 lead.

Ebeling was settled down and cruising retiring 6 of 7 batters in the 2nd and 3rd innings and looked like he was going to get out of a big time jam in the 4th. Davis led off the 4th for Tumwater with a grounder to Lollar at short but the ball was juggled and Davis made it on an error. Dylan Grotte came in to run for Davis. Logan Hayes followed with a base hit and Zach Jones was walked to fill the bases with no outs. Ebeling would strike out the next batters and now was just 1 out away from getting out of the inning with no damage, it was hard to believe he would not finish the inning and even harder to believe this set up a rally that would lead to the 10-run rule being invoked after the 5th inning.

The T-Birds would go on to score 16 runs on just 4 outs. Dustin Doll got it started with a clutch 2 out base hit to score Grotte. Noah Andrews then cleaned the bases with a triple. Rodriguez walked, Sirkel had a base hit, Davis would make his 2nd plate appearance and this time slapped an RBI base hit, Grotte came in to run again and would score on an error and finally when it was over the T-Birds led 9-5.

Meantime, Barber had settled down after the 2nd and retired 6 in a row in the 3rd and 4th innings. In the top of the 5th Tumwater would score another 8 runs led by another triple this time by Davis, Andrew Pullar batted twice with an RBI single and a 2 RBI double, Garrett Behrens and Grotte also had base hits during this rally and when the dust settled it was 17-5. Rochester would score 1 in the bottom of the 5th but not enough to continue the game.

The T-Birds are now 5-0 and 2-0 in league play while Rochester drops to 1-4 and 0-2.

Our Tommy Lowe of Greene Realty Players of the Game for Game 1 Logan Chase for Tumwater and Bradden Schneider for Rochester and in game 2 Noah Andrews for Tumwater and Aaron Huff for the Warriors. Our ProActive Physical Therapy Plays of the Game went to Tumwater’s Andrew Pullar in the 1st game for a key 2 RBI double and in game 2 Dustin Doll’s 2 out RBI single that triggered a 16 run scoring barrage.

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