Saxons top Wildcats, but it sure wasn’t pretty

The outcome of a Greater Spokane League baseball game billed as one between teams pitting good pitching against good hitting in truth was scarcely a product of either.

Much of the scoring on both sides in Ferris’ dramatic comeback 8-7 victory over Mt. Spokane came from the rubble of myriad walks, hit batsmen, errors and wild pitches.

Saxons starter Caleb Rath never found a groove and his relievers spent much of their time pitching out of trouble. Wildcats ace Cameron Joslyn, though giving his team five innings and the lead, was not sharp.

“It was very ugly,” said Ferris coach John Thacker following a game that took nearly 3 1/2 hours to complete.

That sentiment was echoed to a word by Wildcats coach Alex Schuerman, who added that sometimes those are the kinds of games a team has to win.

“Unfortunately both teams didn’t play very well, but Ferris stayed with it,” he said.

The Saxons, following 25-minute rain delay, rallied from a 7-4 deficit on two swings of the bat by junior first baseman Kyle Krustangel.

Prior to the downpour, Ryan Murphy walked to open the bottom of the sixth inning. After the delay Casey Brett singled and the pair moved up on one of Mt. Spokane’s six errors. Krustangel crushed a double to score them both.

In the seventh inning Murphy’s ground out scored Scott Ward, who had reached base on a throwing error after striking out. Krustangel followed with a single to drive in Jeremy Templeton, who had walked, with the winning run.

“We capitalized on our chances at the end,” said Krustangel. “I just did what I was taught – trust your hands, stay back and don’t do too much with the pitch.”

The only meeting this year between the GSL’s two unbeatens had been moved to Mt. Spokane because Ferris’s field was unplayable.

The “visiting” Wildcats (5-1) scored first on a Marcos Armendariz double and wild pitch. Ferris (4-0) rallied for three runs, following Chad Berland’s double, on a passed ball, two walks and a couple errors following soft infield hits in the hole between second and third base.

A six-run Mt. Spokane third inning featured three walks, a hit batsman, two throwing errors by Rath, two wild pitches and back-to-back two-run hits by Nos. 8 and 9 hitters Nick Petrie and Bryan Raynor.

Ferris got a run back on an error and Murphy’s base hit.

But when the rains came, Mt. Spokane was unable to weather the storm.

“It was nice of Mt. Spokane and the umpires to stay around and let us get this thing in,” said Thacker. “I’ve been in other situations when it would have been called. At the end, clutch hitting by Kyle proved to be the difference.”

Shadle Park 3, North Central 0: Josh Powell hit a sixth-inning two-run double as Shadle (4-2) broke up a scoreless duel between his Highlanders battery mate Brian Kranches and NC pitcher Logan Davenport. Kranches scattered four hits, striking out seven and walking three to earn the shutout victory. Davenport struck out 10 and walked two for the host Indians (3-3) before departing the mound. He also doubled. …Lewis and Clark 3, West Valley 2: Brandon Arnold’s solo home run tied the game in the fifth for the host Tigers (4-2), then Alexander Himes reached base on an error and, after stealing third base, scored on an error for the win. Pitcher Eric Barge improved to 3-0, shutting out WV (2-2) over the last five innings after giving up solo runs in the first two. Arnold had two of LC’s three hits allowed by Eagles pitcher Greg Bradley and Alex Stanley. Mike Hauschild doubled twice for the Eagles. …East Valley 16, Cheney 1: Jye Lanphere went 3 for 4 and hit his third home run of the year during a six-run second inning for the Knights (3-3). Mark Lengyel hit a two-run double during the frame and EV ended the game at Cheney (1-5) with a six-run fifth inning. Pitchers Gerry Kelley and Nik Weiler combined on a one-hitter. …Rogers 12, University 11: The Pirates, coming back from a six-run deficit after half an inning, maintained mastery of the Titans (2-4) to win their first game. Rogers (1-3) took its first lead, scoring four fifth-inning runs and withstood a seventh-inning U-Hi rally. Eric Kelly hit two doubles and a triple, scoring three runs and driving in three more. Bret Kellogg went 3 for 5 with a triple and two RBIs and pitched the last three innings for the win. U-Hi’s Ken VanSickle went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. Mead 3, Gonzaga Prep 3: The game at Gonzaga Prep was suspended with the teams tied in the top of the eighth and will resume today at 4 p.m.