POYER SHOT SENDS ILWACO PACKING
Astoria wanted an extra game last week to get the rest of their team some playing time. Ilwaco probably just wanted rest.
In Saturday's battle of the Fishermen, Ilwaco led 2nd-ranked Astoria 4-2 going into the bottom of the sixth inning when four Astoria all-league starters came off the bench and to the rescue. Jordan Poyer concluded Astoria's comeback with a walkoff 3-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, which boosted Astoria to a 7-4 victory.
The blast to left-field was the second game-winning home run against Ilwaco in a span of 16-and-a-half hours, leaving the Pacific County Fishermen with a 1-5 overall record while the Clatsop County Fishermen picked up their ninth straight win. Ilwaco played late into the night Friday night, losing a 19-15 nine-inning game at White Salmon after falling 12-0 in six innings in the first game of the doubleheader. Some of the players did not reach their beds until 3:30 in the morning Saturday, then had to be in uniform and ready to go for the 1:00 p.m. non-league game at Aiken Field. Ilwaco played without four-year starting centerfielder Alex Martin and fellow senior starter Cody Chalker.
Astoria began the game with a primarily junior-led lineup, with only shortstop Tom Jawarski, second baseman Hans Lund and left fielder Adam Koehnke in their usual starting positions. Part-time first baseman Gabe Davis, a senior, got the start in centerfield for the Fishermen, while all-state standouts Matt Brause, Brent Culver and Jordan Poyer began the game in the dugout.
After a Jordan Desimone base hit and a couple of loud outs in the first inning, Ilwaco got to Astoria starter Nick Bredleau in the second, when second baseman Ryan Garcia sent the first pitch he saw sailing over the left field fence for a home run. That would be the only earned run allowed by Astoria's senior starter, who gave up four hits and five walks, striking out six over a six inning stint.
Meanwhile, Ilwaco starter Paul Blaylock, who surrendered a walk-off grand slam to White Salmon late the previous evening, cruised through the first three innings with a lot of help from his freshman battery-mate. Trevor Couch gunned down Jawarski stealing after Astoria's speedy shortstop led off the game with a base hit. Couch eliminated another baserunner in the second, erasing Poyer easily after the athletic sophomore came in to run for catcher Sam Johnson in the second after a fielding error put Johnson on base with one out.
Blaylock retired the side in order in the third, facing the minimum number of batters through the first three innings, but began experiencingn the control problems that haunted him the night before in the fourth. Blaylock, who missed almost the entirety of last season with an elbow injury, walked Jawarski to lead off the inning, then watched as Astoria's aggressive baserunning evened the score. Jaws took second when a pickoff throw went off the glove of Desimone at first for an error, then raced home after stealing third when Couch's throw went into left field. The purple-and-gold Fishermen would load the bases on a walk, a hit batter and an infield hit by Johnson, then junior Jared Rummell drew another base on balls to force in Koehnke with the go-ahead run.
That would be it for the senior Blaylock, as freshman Justin Short toed the slab with the bases loaded and one out. Short would escape unscathed, inducing Davis to ground into a force out at home before fanning Oscar Carriere to end the inning. Short would wiggle out of trouble again in the fifth, loading the bases with three consecutive two-out walks before striking out Johnson to leave the sacks jammed for the second straight inning.
Through five innings, only two of Astoria's five all-league starters came off the bench, with Poyer twice entering as a courtesy runner for Johnson and Joey Dursse drawing a walk as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning.
Ilwaco grabbed a 4-2 lead with three unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning. A Jawarski throwing error put Couch on second base to start the inning. Desimone followed with an RBI single, his second hit of the contest. Paul Blaylock reached on third baseman Brad Sarpola's second error of the game and after a wild pitch moved the runners up, Astoria opted to walk the dangerous, but struggling Anthony Wirkkala to load the bases. Garcia grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, Astoria's third twin-killing of the game, but Desimone raced home with the go-ahead run. Bredleau fanned Short on a 1-2 pitch that should have ended the inning, but after the ball ended up in the dirt, Johnson's throw to first base sailed over the head of Rummell for the third error of the frame, allowing Blaylock to cross the plate.
Astoria didn't mess around in the sixth, beginning the process fo entering its front line players back into the game. After Rummell led off the inning with a base on balls, Poyer came to bat for the first time, flying out to deep center field. Brent Culver pinch hit for Carriere and served the first pitch he saw back up the middle for a base hit, taking second on the throw back to the outfield. A passed ball scored Rummell and put Culver at third before Astoria loaded the bases with a walk to pinch-hitting catcher Brendan Landwehr and a Hans Lund hit-by-pitch. With Adam Koehnke at the plate, Culver broke for home, scoring when the ball bounced past Couch to the backstop. With the game tied at four and runners at second and third with two outs, Short again got a key inning-ending strikeout, fainning the hot-hitting Koehnke on a 2-2 pitch.
Short and Blaylock had both danced out of danger several times in the game, as Astoria struggled to deliver in the clutch with men on base and had just four hits total in the game, matching their error total. But too many free passes finally caught up to Ilwaco in the final inning. A leadoff walk to pinch-hitting Matt Brause put the go-ahead run on. With Johnson showing bunt, Short was called for a balk, putting the State 3A Player of the Year in scoring position. Strangely, the sacrifice was called off and Johnson popped out to Garcia at second base, failing to move the runner. That would be moot as Brause went to third on a wild pitch and Rummell got plunked in the backside to put runners on first and third, bringing Poyer to the plate. The 3rd-team All-state outfielder worked the count to 3-1 before sending a Short fastball rocketing out of the park to left field to end the game.
Astoria, now 9-3 overall, has perhaps its toughest Cowapa League test yet, facing the Scappoose Indians on Tuesday at Aiken Field. Scappoose (3-1 Cowapa League, 8-5 overall) will likely send Jacob Gale to the hill, after Gale threw a one-hit shutout in a 3-0 win over Banks and followed up with a 3-hitter in a victory over Yamhill-Carlton. Astoria will counter with right-handed ace Mathias Brause, who has not lost a game since the summer of 2005. Tuesday's game will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1230 ESPN, beginning at 4:55 p.m.
ILWACO 0-1-0-0-0-3-0 4-4-3
ASTORIA 0-0-0-2-0-2-3 7-4-4
WP-Lund (ip, 0h, 0r, k)
LP-Short (3ip, 2h, 5r, 5er, 5k, 6bb, 2hp, 3wp)
E-Garcia, Short, J. Desimone, Sarpola 2, Jawarski, Johnson. LOB-Ilwaco 3, Astoria 8. HR-Garcia, Poyer. SB-Jawarski, Culver. CS-Jawarski, Poyer. DP-Astoria 3. PB-Couch, Johnson
In Saturday's battle of the Fishermen, Ilwaco led 2nd-ranked Astoria 4-2 going into the bottom of the sixth inning when four Astoria all-league starters came off the bench and to the rescue. Jordan Poyer concluded Astoria's comeback with a walkoff 3-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, which boosted Astoria to a 7-4 victory.
The blast to left-field was the second game-winning home run against Ilwaco in a span of 16-and-a-half hours, leaving the Pacific County Fishermen with a 1-5 overall record while the Clatsop County Fishermen picked up their ninth straight win. Ilwaco played late into the night Friday night, losing a 19-15 nine-inning game at White Salmon after falling 12-0 in six innings in the first game of the doubleheader. Some of the players did not reach their beds until 3:30 in the morning Saturday, then had to be in uniform and ready to go for the 1:00 p.m. non-league game at Aiken Field. Ilwaco played without four-year starting centerfielder Alex Martin and fellow senior starter Cody Chalker.
Astoria began the game with a primarily junior-led lineup, with only shortstop Tom Jawarski, second baseman Hans Lund and left fielder Adam Koehnke in their usual starting positions. Part-time first baseman Gabe Davis, a senior, got the start in centerfield for the Fishermen, while all-state standouts Matt Brause, Brent Culver and Jordan Poyer began the game in the dugout.
After a Jordan Desimone base hit and a couple of loud outs in the first inning, Ilwaco got to Astoria starter Nick Bredleau in the second, when second baseman Ryan Garcia sent the first pitch he saw sailing over the left field fence for a home run. That would be the only earned run allowed by Astoria's senior starter, who gave up four hits and five walks, striking out six over a six inning stint.
Meanwhile, Ilwaco starter Paul Blaylock, who surrendered a walk-off grand slam to White Salmon late the previous evening, cruised through the first three innings with a lot of help from his freshman battery-mate. Trevor Couch gunned down Jawarski stealing after Astoria's speedy shortstop led off the game with a base hit. Couch eliminated another baserunner in the second, erasing Poyer easily after the athletic sophomore came in to run for catcher Sam Johnson in the second after a fielding error put Johnson on base with one out.
Blaylock retired the side in order in the third, facing the minimum number of batters through the first three innings, but began experiencingn the control problems that haunted him the night before in the fourth. Blaylock, who missed almost the entirety of last season with an elbow injury, walked Jawarski to lead off the inning, then watched as Astoria's aggressive baserunning evened the score. Jaws took second when a pickoff throw went off the glove of Desimone at first for an error, then raced home after stealing third when Couch's throw went into left field. The purple-and-gold Fishermen would load the bases on a walk, a hit batter and an infield hit by Johnson, then junior Jared Rummell drew another base on balls to force in Koehnke with the go-ahead run.
That would be it for the senior Blaylock, as freshman Justin Short toed the slab with the bases loaded and one out. Short would escape unscathed, inducing Davis to ground into a force out at home before fanning Oscar Carriere to end the inning. Short would wiggle out of trouble again in the fifth, loading the bases with three consecutive two-out walks before striking out Johnson to leave the sacks jammed for the second straight inning.
Through five innings, only two of Astoria's five all-league starters came off the bench, with Poyer twice entering as a courtesy runner for Johnson and Joey Dursse drawing a walk as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning.
Ilwaco grabbed a 4-2 lead with three unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning. A Jawarski throwing error put Couch on second base to start the inning. Desimone followed with an RBI single, his second hit of the contest. Paul Blaylock reached on third baseman Brad Sarpola's second error of the game and after a wild pitch moved the runners up, Astoria opted to walk the dangerous, but struggling Anthony Wirkkala to load the bases. Garcia grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, Astoria's third twin-killing of the game, but Desimone raced home with the go-ahead run. Bredleau fanned Short on a 1-2 pitch that should have ended the inning, but after the ball ended up in the dirt, Johnson's throw to first base sailed over the head of Rummell for the third error of the frame, allowing Blaylock to cross the plate.
Astoria didn't mess around in the sixth, beginning the process fo entering its front line players back into the game. After Rummell led off the inning with a base on balls, Poyer came to bat for the first time, flying out to deep center field. Brent Culver pinch hit for Carriere and served the first pitch he saw back up the middle for a base hit, taking second on the throw back to the outfield. A passed ball scored Rummell and put Culver at third before Astoria loaded the bases with a walk to pinch-hitting catcher Brendan Landwehr and a Hans Lund hit-by-pitch. With Adam Koehnke at the plate, Culver broke for home, scoring when the ball bounced past Couch to the backstop. With the game tied at four and runners at second and third with two outs, Short again got a key inning-ending strikeout, fainning the hot-hitting Koehnke on a 2-2 pitch.
Short and Blaylock had both danced out of danger several times in the game, as Astoria struggled to deliver in the clutch with men on base and had just four hits total in the game, matching their error total. But too many free passes finally caught up to Ilwaco in the final inning. A leadoff walk to pinch-hitting Matt Brause put the go-ahead run on. With Johnson showing bunt, Short was called for a balk, putting the State 3A Player of the Year in scoring position. Strangely, the sacrifice was called off and Johnson popped out to Garcia at second base, failing to move the runner. That would be moot as Brause went to third on a wild pitch and Rummell got plunked in the backside to put runners on first and third, bringing Poyer to the plate. The 3rd-team All-state outfielder worked the count to 3-1 before sending a Short fastball rocketing out of the park to left field to end the game.
Astoria, now 9-3 overall, has perhaps its toughest Cowapa League test yet, facing the Scappoose Indians on Tuesday at Aiken Field. Scappoose (3-1 Cowapa League, 8-5 overall) will likely send Jacob Gale to the hill, after Gale threw a one-hit shutout in a 3-0 win over Banks and followed up with a 3-hitter in a victory over Yamhill-Carlton. Astoria will counter with right-handed ace Mathias Brause, who has not lost a game since the summer of 2005. Tuesday's game will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1230 ESPN, beginning at 4:55 p.m.
ILWACO 0-1-0-0-0-3-0 4-4-3
ASTORIA 0-0-0-2-0-2-3 7-4-4
WP-Lund (ip, 0h, 0r, k)
LP-Short (3ip, 2h, 5r, 5er, 5k, 6bb, 2hp, 3wp)
E-Garcia, Short, J. Desimone, Sarpola 2, Jawarski, Johnson. LOB-Ilwaco 3, Astoria 8. HR-Garcia, Poyer. SB-Jawarski, Culver. CS-Jawarski, Poyer. DP-Astoria 3. PB-Couch, Johnson
posted by Matt Richert at 7:46 PM
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