WILDCATS, BLAZE SPLIT "UNAPPEALING" TWINBILL
When is an appeal not an appeal?
That was the question that led to a major league rhubarb and the ejection of Langley Blaze player/coach Graig Merrit Saturday as the Blaze and the Seaside Wildcats split a doubleheader at Broadway Field.
Both games of the twinbill featured bizarre outcomes on appeal plays, when one team claims that a runner left base before a ball was caught by a fielder. Just two more in a series of unusual circumstances in this weekend's three games series.
Langley starting pitcher Kris Webber handcuffed the Wildcats slow-starting offense in game one, holding Seaside to one hit in a complete game shutout performace as the Blaze won 4-0 in seven innings.
The only Wildcats hit of the game turned into an out when leadoff batter Spencer Wiggins was gunned down by Blaze leftfielder Jon Syrnyk trying to stretch a single into a double in the third inning.
A baserunning error cost the Wildcats a chance to score in the first inning when Aaron Nelson walked and stole second with one out, but got caught in no man's land on a ground ball in front of him and was easily thrown out trying to advance to third.
The 'Cats would not get a runner to second base again until the sixth inning, by that time trailing 4-0.
Langley scored three runs in the third inning, the third run scoring in mind-boggling fashion. After back to back bleeders by Andrew Qualle and Syrnyk put runners on first and second with none out, Dan Boudreau failed to sacrifice, bunting into a force out at third base. Number three hitter Jordan Lennerton followed with an RBI single, scoring Syrnyk with the first run of the game. After Robbie Webster was hit by a pitch, Bobby Wagner followed with a fly ball to deep left-center field. Wildcats' center fielder Spencer Wiggins, playing shallow for a potential play at the plate, had to spring back and to his right at full speed and made a lunging catch at full extension while on the dead run, as spectacular a grab as you will ever see. On the play, Boudreau tagged and scored.
Before the first pitch to the next batter, Wildcats' pitcher Addis O'Connor threw to third base to appeal the play. Unfortunately his lazy toss came up well short of the mark, skipping past third baseman Mike Rector. Lennerton, who had advanced to third on the sacrifice fly, was able to scramble home on the error making it a 3-0 Langley lead.
That was more than enough for Webber, who walked five, but never two in the same inning on the way to the win.
In game two, with Seaside leading 2-1 in the top of the fifth inning, the Blaze put runners at first and third with nobody out. Merrit, who started at catcher in the game, was tagged out in a rundown after Syrnyk hit a grounder to third base. With that play fresh in his mind, his anger would boil over shortly.
Dan Boudreau followed with a fly ball to center field and Qualle tagged up and advanced from second to third base. The Wildcats' again tried to make an awkward appeal to second. Pitcher Jason Willis appeared to abort his first attempt at the appeal, then retoed the rubber, stepped off and threw tentatively to third base. Sensing confusion, Qualle raced home with what appeared to be the game-tying run. But, after the appeal was denied, the field umpire ordered Qualle back to third base, which sent manager Merrit flying out of the dugout, already donning catcher's gear in preparation for the bottom of the inning. After arguing profusely for about two minutes, he was ejected, which only served to raise the volume of his expletive-laced tirade. The game was delayed over five minutes before he finally was coaxed to leave the dugout. The Blaze would strand runners at second and third without scoring as Lennerton flied out to end the inning.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats padded their lead with a solo home run by Aaron Nelson with one out in the fifth inning, and a sacrifice fly by Robert Hitchens in the sixth to score Matt Webb, who had doubled and alertly raced to third on a Mason Reilly fly out to center field.
The Wildcats added what turned out to be three big insurance runs in the seventh inning on an RBI single by Aaron Svarthumle and a 2-run single by Reilly.
Trailing 7-1, the Blaze rallied for five runs in the eighth inning, then put the tying and go-ahead runners on base in the ninth before relief pitcher Rob Lloyd struck out Bobby Wagner looking, after Wagner fouled off the first pitch well beyond the wall in right field but just a few feet foul.
The Wildcats, now 10-8 in the PIL and 21-14 overall, head to Everett on Sunday for a doubleheader against the Merchants.
That was the question that led to a major league rhubarb and the ejection of Langley Blaze player/coach Graig Merrit Saturday as the Blaze and the Seaside Wildcats split a doubleheader at Broadway Field.
Both games of the twinbill featured bizarre outcomes on appeal plays, when one team claims that a runner left base before a ball was caught by a fielder. Just two more in a series of unusual circumstances in this weekend's three games series.
Langley starting pitcher Kris Webber handcuffed the Wildcats slow-starting offense in game one, holding Seaside to one hit in a complete game shutout performace as the Blaze won 4-0 in seven innings.
The only Wildcats hit of the game turned into an out when leadoff batter Spencer Wiggins was gunned down by Blaze leftfielder Jon Syrnyk trying to stretch a single into a double in the third inning.
A baserunning error cost the Wildcats a chance to score in the first inning when Aaron Nelson walked and stole second with one out, but got caught in no man's land on a ground ball in front of him and was easily thrown out trying to advance to third.
The 'Cats would not get a runner to second base again until the sixth inning, by that time trailing 4-0.
Langley scored three runs in the third inning, the third run scoring in mind-boggling fashion. After back to back bleeders by Andrew Qualle and Syrnyk put runners on first and second with none out, Dan Boudreau failed to sacrifice, bunting into a force out at third base. Number three hitter Jordan Lennerton followed with an RBI single, scoring Syrnyk with the first run of the game. After Robbie Webster was hit by a pitch, Bobby Wagner followed with a fly ball to deep left-center field. Wildcats' center fielder Spencer Wiggins, playing shallow for a potential play at the plate, had to spring back and to his right at full speed and made a lunging catch at full extension while on the dead run, as spectacular a grab as you will ever see. On the play, Boudreau tagged and scored.
Before the first pitch to the next batter, Wildcats' pitcher Addis O'Connor threw to third base to appeal the play. Unfortunately his lazy toss came up well short of the mark, skipping past third baseman Mike Rector. Lennerton, who had advanced to third on the sacrifice fly, was able to scramble home on the error making it a 3-0 Langley lead.
That was more than enough for Webber, who walked five, but never two in the same inning on the way to the win.
In game two, with Seaside leading 2-1 in the top of the fifth inning, the Blaze put runners at first and third with nobody out. Merrit, who started at catcher in the game, was tagged out in a rundown after Syrnyk hit a grounder to third base. With that play fresh in his mind, his anger would boil over shortly.
Dan Boudreau followed with a fly ball to center field and Qualle tagged up and advanced from second to third base. The Wildcats' again tried to make an awkward appeal to second. Pitcher Jason Willis appeared to abort his first attempt at the appeal, then retoed the rubber, stepped off and threw tentatively to third base. Sensing confusion, Qualle raced home with what appeared to be the game-tying run. But, after the appeal was denied, the field umpire ordered Qualle back to third base, which sent manager Merrit flying out of the dugout, already donning catcher's gear in preparation for the bottom of the inning. After arguing profusely for about two minutes, he was ejected, which only served to raise the volume of his expletive-laced tirade. The game was delayed over five minutes before he finally was coaxed to leave the dugout. The Blaze would strand runners at second and third without scoring as Lennerton flied out to end the inning.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats padded their lead with a solo home run by Aaron Nelson with one out in the fifth inning, and a sacrifice fly by Robert Hitchens in the sixth to score Matt Webb, who had doubled and alertly raced to third on a Mason Reilly fly out to center field.
The Wildcats added what turned out to be three big insurance runs in the seventh inning on an RBI single by Aaron Svarthumle and a 2-run single by Reilly.
Trailing 7-1, the Blaze rallied for five runs in the eighth inning, then put the tying and go-ahead runners on base in the ninth before relief pitcher Rob Lloyd struck out Bobby Wagner looking, after Wagner fouled off the first pitch well beyond the wall in right field but just a few feet foul.
The Wildcats, now 10-8 in the PIL and 21-14 overall, head to Everett on Sunday for a doubleheader against the Merchants.
posted by Matt Richert at 7:27 PM
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