Shadle Park topples Ferris
Shadle Park continued its torrid hitting streak at the expense of Ferris and got solid middle-inning pitching by Brian Kranches to inch closer to the second-place Saxons with an 11-4 Greater Spokane League baseball triumph at Avista Stadium.
The Highlanders extended their consecutive innings with base hits through a second straight game. And until they were held scoreless in the seventh inning, they had scored runs in 10 successive innings.
“We’re starting to hit,” said Shadle coach Ron Brooks in something of an understatement following the win.
In the last two games, Shadle’s offense has cranked out 31 base hits, a baker’s dozen coming off three Ferris pitchers, and scored 22 runs.
The victory improved the team to 7-3 in the GSL (9-3 overall) and it remained two games behind league leader Mt. Spokane, but now only a game back of the Saxons (9-3, 8-2).
Shadle jumped on starter Caleb Rath from the outset with three first-inning hits, including a run-scoring double by catcher Josh Powell and an RBI single by shortstop Kody Anderson, back after missing last week with an ankle sprain.
Three more hits and a walk with the bases loaded accounted for three more runs in the second and a 5-1 lead.
But Kranches was struggling on the mound as well, two hit batters, a walk and an RBI double by Casey Brett cutting the lead to a run.
“Since both pitchers didn’t pitch so well in the beginning, maybe it was a little nerves,” said Kranches.
But he adjusted, pausing in his wind-up to help him find his release point and got into a groove. Kranches, at one point during the third inning into the sixth, retired six in a row and nine of 10 Ferris batters.
“Sometimes Brian tends to be a slow starter, but once he gets in his groove he’s very effective,” said Brooks. “I think the thing that most impressed me tonight was his being able to locate his changeup and off-speed stuff.”
While Kranches muffled Ferris’ bats, Shadle’s kept singing. Clay Scribner hit an RBI double and Billy Rigsby added a run-scoring hit in the third, one of his three hits in the game, and the team had runs in each of the next three innings as well.
Included was Rigsby’s line drive over the left field fence in the fifth.
“It was a changeup low and I just reached for it,” Rigsby said. “When I hit it I thought I popped it up, but I got more of it than I expected. I’m surprised it got over the fence.”
Four Highlanders had two hits in a game Brooks called a confidence builder against a good-hitting opponent and quality program.
In other games, league-leading Mt. Spokane (10-1, 9-1) scored in every inning of its 12-2 win at Rogers (5-7, 3-7). Cameron Joslyn went 4 for 5 with two triples and a double, scoring three times and driving in three more. Keith Tappe had three RBIs with two hits. … Bret Riggin pitched a one-hitter, striking out eight as East Valley (7-7, 6-6) won at North Central (7-6, 7-5) in a key matchup of 3A teams. Riggin faced just 26 batters and the Knights scored four times in the seventh inning. Michael Stewart hit a double and a triple and Jye Lanphere was 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. …West Valley (7-5, 6-4) won 9-2 at Cheney (2-11, 2-10), Matt Peterson led off the game with a home run and finished with three hits. Mike Hauschild was 3 for 4 with a two-run double in the fifth inning and two-run single in the sixth. …University (6-7, 6-6) won its fourth straight, 6-4 at Clarkston (3-10, 3-9), but needed a four-run seventh inning to do so. Adam Smith had two hits and pitched the win. Mike Conrad and Brandon Kelley each doubled. …Gonzaga Prep (4-7, 4-6) continued Central Valley’s late inning woes, scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh on Brandon Schmidt’s single to beat the Bears (8-6, 6-6), 5-4. Schmidt and Chris Zapatocky each had two hits and CV’s Kyle Renz was 2 for 2 with two RBIs and a run scored. …Winning pitcher Pete Birdwell hit a two-run home run in the fourth and Kevin Schnieder‘s second hit and RBI in the seventh helped Mead (4-6, 4-6) to a 4-2 victory at Lewis and Clark (5-7, 5-5).