BOBCATS BIG INNING FINISHES KNAPPA
Tuesday's pitching duel between two of the top hurlers in the Northwest League quickly turned into a home run derby.
The Nestucca Bobcats' ace pitcher Logan Kellow bailed out in the third inning, but landed on a soft cushion. The 'Cats scored eight runs off Knappa lefty Gary Aho in the third on went on to beat Knappa 13-4 at Teevin Field.
While Aho and Kellow weren't exactly evoking images of Cy Young on the hill, they were doing pretty good imitations of the Hall of Famers that Barry Bonds is currently chasing.
Kellow, the number three hitter in Nestucca's order, greeted Aho with a solo home run to right field on an 0-2 count to put the Bobcats on the board in the first inning. Aho, also batting third, answered with a 2-run shot in Knappa's half of the first then blasted a ball about 30 feet beyond the center field fence to lead off the third inning. Joe Strickland followed Aho's first inning home run with a bomb of his own and back-to-back walks in the third after Aho's second blast put an end to Kellow's outing.
"We came out against Kellow after just beating [Corbett ace pitcher Kevin] Greenslade last week," said Knappa head coach Jeff Miller. "Kellow struck out 18 earlier on us when we went down there. We worked really hard and focused that we were going to come out and compete against him and the kids came out and had the early lead and didn't sustain it."
It was an easy decision for Nestucca head coach Ron Kellow to make. With a game the following day against the Gaston Greyhounds' dominating pitcher Cody Fassold and a strong relief option in junior lefthander Tyler Richwine to turn to, Kellow decided to curb his righty's innings and reload for tomorrow. Oh, and the 9-4 lead didn't hurt, either.
"Our bats were meeting his arm," said Miller. "As he started to try to get fine, he started to walk some guys. Pretty good time to take him out and especially when you've got another game tomorrow, you might as well. It's not like they bring in low quality guys."
"That's really the difference right now between them and the rest of the league, they've got three quality guys they can bring in who can throw a quality game against anybody."
After Kellow's first inning dong, the Bobcats lit up Aho and the Loggers in the third inning. Number nine hitter Max Lalor, a thorn in Knappa's side all season, began the rally with a one-out double just beyond the outstretched glove of leftfielder Nate West. Tony Marin stepped to the plate and hit another shot to left, beyond West's glove and beyond the cyclone fence for a 2-run homer to tie the game at three.
That was just the beginning as 13 men came to the plate in the inning. A walk to Richwine followed by a Kellow RBI double put the Bobcats in front to stay. The Loggers appealed the play, claiming Richwine missed the bag rounding third base, but home plate umpire Butch Johnson did not see it that way. That was not the first call that Johnson and Knappa head coach Jeff Miller did not see eye-to-eye on.
The Loggers had a chance to limit the damage in the inning. Ryan Waldron's base hit put runners on first and third and the Loggers picked Kellow off at third on an attempted double steal for the second out. But Charlie Sutton squeezed a base hit up the middle to score Waldron, back-to-back walks loaded the bases, then a walk to Zach Hudspeth scored a run, while Lalor fouled off three Aho pitches in a nine-pitch at bat before being hit by a pitch to force in another run. A booted ground ball to second base brought two more runs home to put Nestucca up 9-3.
"The defense let down," said Miller. "Pitching at a certain point let down. Other factors in the game we can't control maybe let down in the inning and it all combined for the perfect storm there."
After Aho closed the gap with his tape-measure blast in the fourth, Maury Dugan and Doug Montgomery drew back-to-back walks with one out. After Kellow the pitcher fell behind Elias Hunsinger, Kellow the manager made the change, bringing in Richwine, who promptly fanned Hunsinger and West back-to-back to put out the fire.
Richwine pitched brilliantly to finish the game, allowing two hits and no runs the rest of the way, while striking out ten batters to earn his fourth victory without a loss.
Hunsinger would be a strikeout victim for the third time in his next trip to the batters box, but not before apparently being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning. Halfway to first, Hunsinger was called back to the box by the umpire for not trying to avoid the pitch. An irate Miller nearly got the gate after that, fuming as Hunsinger fanned looking at a curveball on the outside corner to end the inning.
Kellow led the way at the plate for the Bobcats, going 3-for-5 with three runs batted in. Waldron also was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Lalor finished 2-for-3 with a pair of runs and two RBI's and Marin also scored twice and drove in two.
Aho took the loss, allowing ten runs, eight earned over five innings, but finished 2-for-4 with 3 RBI's at the plate. Doug Montgomery was 2-for-3 with a base on balls and played solid defense at first base.
The Loggers next game is on the road at Country Christian, a doubleheader Friday at 3:00 p.m. in Molalla.
NESTUCCA 1-0-8-1-0-0-3 13-11-0
KNAPPA 3-0-1-0-0-0-0 4-6-5
W-Richwine (4.2ip, 2h, 0r, 10k, bb, hp)
L-Aho (5ip, 8h, 10r, 8er, 3k, 5bb, hp, wp)
E-Oja, C. Strickland 2, Anderson, J. Strickland. LOB-Nestucca 8, Knappa 8. 2B-Kellow, Waldron, Lalor, Dugan. HR-Kellow, Marin, Aho 2, J. Strickland. SB-Waldron, Marin, C. Strickland. S-Anderson. PB-J. Strickland.
The Nestucca Bobcats' ace pitcher Logan Kellow bailed out in the third inning, but landed on a soft cushion. The 'Cats scored eight runs off Knappa lefty Gary Aho in the third on went on to beat Knappa 13-4 at Teevin Field.
While Aho and Kellow weren't exactly evoking images of Cy Young on the hill, they were doing pretty good imitations of the Hall of Famers that Barry Bonds is currently chasing.
Kellow, the number three hitter in Nestucca's order, greeted Aho with a solo home run to right field on an 0-2 count to put the Bobcats on the board in the first inning. Aho, also batting third, answered with a 2-run shot in Knappa's half of the first then blasted a ball about 30 feet beyond the center field fence to lead off the third inning. Joe Strickland followed Aho's first inning home run with a bomb of his own and back-to-back walks in the third after Aho's second blast put an end to Kellow's outing.
"We came out against Kellow after just beating [Corbett ace pitcher Kevin] Greenslade last week," said Knappa head coach Jeff Miller. "Kellow struck out 18 earlier on us when we went down there. We worked really hard and focused that we were going to come out and compete against him and the kids came out and had the early lead and didn't sustain it."
It was an easy decision for Nestucca head coach Ron Kellow to make. With a game the following day against the Gaston Greyhounds' dominating pitcher Cody Fassold and a strong relief option in junior lefthander Tyler Richwine to turn to, Kellow decided to curb his righty's innings and reload for tomorrow. Oh, and the 9-4 lead didn't hurt, either.
"Our bats were meeting his arm," said Miller. "As he started to try to get fine, he started to walk some guys. Pretty good time to take him out and especially when you've got another game tomorrow, you might as well. It's not like they bring in low quality guys."
"That's really the difference right now between them and the rest of the league, they've got three quality guys they can bring in who can throw a quality game against anybody."
After Kellow's first inning dong, the Bobcats lit up Aho and the Loggers in the third inning. Number nine hitter Max Lalor, a thorn in Knappa's side all season, began the rally with a one-out double just beyond the outstretched glove of leftfielder Nate West. Tony Marin stepped to the plate and hit another shot to left, beyond West's glove and beyond the cyclone fence for a 2-run homer to tie the game at three.
That was just the beginning as 13 men came to the plate in the inning. A walk to Richwine followed by a Kellow RBI double put the Bobcats in front to stay. The Loggers appealed the play, claiming Richwine missed the bag rounding third base, but home plate umpire Butch Johnson did not see it that way. That was not the first call that Johnson and Knappa head coach Jeff Miller did not see eye-to-eye on.
The Loggers had a chance to limit the damage in the inning. Ryan Waldron's base hit put runners on first and third and the Loggers picked Kellow off at third on an attempted double steal for the second out. But Charlie Sutton squeezed a base hit up the middle to score Waldron, back-to-back walks loaded the bases, then a walk to Zach Hudspeth scored a run, while Lalor fouled off three Aho pitches in a nine-pitch at bat before being hit by a pitch to force in another run. A booted ground ball to second base brought two more runs home to put Nestucca up 9-3.
"The defense let down," said Miller. "Pitching at a certain point let down. Other factors in the game we can't control maybe let down in the inning and it all combined for the perfect storm there."
After Aho closed the gap with his tape-measure blast in the fourth, Maury Dugan and Doug Montgomery drew back-to-back walks with one out. After Kellow the pitcher fell behind Elias Hunsinger, Kellow the manager made the change, bringing in Richwine, who promptly fanned Hunsinger and West back-to-back to put out the fire.
Richwine pitched brilliantly to finish the game, allowing two hits and no runs the rest of the way, while striking out ten batters to earn his fourth victory without a loss.
Hunsinger would be a strikeout victim for the third time in his next trip to the batters box, but not before apparently being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning. Halfway to first, Hunsinger was called back to the box by the umpire for not trying to avoid the pitch. An irate Miller nearly got the gate after that, fuming as Hunsinger fanned looking at a curveball on the outside corner to end the inning.
Kellow led the way at the plate for the Bobcats, going 3-for-5 with three runs batted in. Waldron also was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Lalor finished 2-for-3 with a pair of runs and two RBI's and Marin also scored twice and drove in two.
Aho took the loss, allowing ten runs, eight earned over five innings, but finished 2-for-4 with 3 RBI's at the plate. Doug Montgomery was 2-for-3 with a base on balls and played solid defense at first base.
The Loggers next game is on the road at Country Christian, a doubleheader Friday at 3:00 p.m. in Molalla.
NESTUCCA 1-0-8-1-0-0-3 13-11-0
KNAPPA 3-0-1-0-0-0-0 4-6-5
W-Richwine (4.2ip, 2h, 0r, 10k, bb, hp)
L-Aho (5ip, 8h, 10r, 8er, 3k, 5bb, hp, wp)
E-Oja, C. Strickland 2, Anderson, J. Strickland. LOB-Nestucca 8, Knappa 8. 2B-Kellow, Waldron, Lalor, Dugan. HR-Kellow, Marin, Aho 2, J. Strickland. SB-Waldron, Marin, C. Strickland. S-Anderson. PB-J. Strickland.
posted by Matt Richert at 11:17 PM
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