Kelley, EV topple NC

After spending six innings behind the plate, East Valley catcher Gerry Kelley found himself in the unlikely position as savior in the seventh.

Not only did he earn a 5-4 victory over North Central with an inning of relief pitching, but also he became the winning run.

Kelley, who replaced starter Mark Lengyel with the Knights ahead by a run, wiggled out of a tough situation when the Indians put the first four men on base in the seventh but managed to score just once.

In the bottom of the frame, Kelley led off with a double and eventually scored on Tanner Hamilton’s one-out, bases-loaded game-winning hit.

“He pitches out of a jam in the top half of the inning and gets a leadoff double to essentially win the game,” said Knights coach John Phelan. “It was a good day. He’s got to be happy.”

EV’s Greater Spokane League baseball season has been one of one-run heartache. The Knights (5-7) have lost three by a single digit and two others by two.

The tables turned as visiting NC (7-5) hurt itself with a series of defensive lapses behind Ryan Swanson’s superb pitching effort.

“Swanson did what he’s been doing all year and pitched really well,” said coach Scott Harmon. “But we didn’t play NC baseball. We had a number of mental mistakes – missed coverages or poor coverages. The bottom line is we live on pitching and defense and we hurt ourselves defensively.”

Adding to the hurt, he said, was that NC lost ground in its bid for the No. 1 3A district seed. EV, however, gained playoff ground, tying Clarkston for third among 3A teams.

Both teams scored first-inning runs with walks the primary culprit. The Knights took a 3-1 lead in the fourth on back-to-back hits by Hamilton and Skyler Schiller, who doubled to right-center field to drive him home and eventually scored.

The Indians tied it in the fifth with four hits, including two doubles, although Lengyel minimized what could have been serious damage.

EV went back in front in the sixth on a pair of NC lapses, including a successful double steal for the go-ahead run. The Indians got even with a pair of bobbled grounders and two hits. But they also had their initial runner picked off first.

Kelley had been battered by Mead the week before and admitted it was scary when NC beat out a series of slow rollers before he got inning-ending pop-up and ground out.

Then he stepped up to the plate and set the table.

“They’re two different things,” he said of both roles. “You’ve got to focus on each part of the game separately. After our three-game losing streak, it feels good to finally win one.”

Elsewhere, Ferris (9-1) won 6-1 at Shadle Park (1-9) as pitcher Bud Kittredge struck out eight, walked none and helped his cause with a double, home run and three runs batted in. … Host University (10-2) got a two-run homer by Tyler Olson during a three-run first inning and held on for a 4-3 win over Clarkston (5-7). . … Andy Mattingly went 3 for 3 with an RBI and run scored in Mead’s 3-1 win over visiting Lewis and Clark (5-5). Matt Walsh struck out 11 for the Panthers (8-2). … West Valley (7-3) whipped Cheney (0-12) 12-2 at home with Mitch Phillips driving in five runs with three hits. Included were a double and triple. Bryan Peterson added a three-run homer in the fourth inning. … Mt. Spokane (6-4) struck early, leading 8-0 after two innings at home against Rogers (3-7) to win 11-1. Niko Sotolongo hit a two-out grand slam in the first inning. … Max Manix pitched shutout ball and doubled in Gonzaga Prep’s 7-0 win at Central Valley (6-6). The game was scoreless until the sixth when the Bullpups (4-6) scored six times on two hits.