RiverHawks finish with bang
When Spokane RiverHawks shortstop Greg Biagi came to the plate in the ninth inning, he was looking for one good pitch.
With a 3-1 count, Biagi got the pitch he was looking for and brought in the winning run as the RiverHawks scored three times in the ninth inning for a a 3-2 victory over the Kitsap BlueJackets Tuesday night in West Coast Collegiate Baseball League play at Avista Stadium.
“I was just looking for one good pitch, one good pitch that I could hit and drive it right back up the middle,” Biagi said. “I was a little ahead of it, but it worked out.”
His infield hit scored Brent Mertens from third base.
Spokane (7-4) went into the bottom of the ninth inning down 2-0. Darin Holcomb, Brian Yardley and Mertens loaded the bases with consecutive base hits.
Cale Ort then drove in Holcomb with an infield hit, before Chris Bozo struck out. Nick Froman’s groundout to first scored Yardley and sent Mertens to third. That set the stage for Biagi.
“That’s a great comeback,” Spokane head coach Steve Hertz said. “To score three runs in an inning in this wood-bat league doesn’t happen very often, so do that in the bottom of the ninth, down two runs, is pretty scrappy.”
For several of the Spokane players, this summer is the first time they’ve used a wood bat.
“They’ve got great character and they’re working at it,” Hertz said of his team using wood bats. “They’re a wonderful bunch of young men. It’s nice to see them get fortunate here in the bottom of the ninth.”
Pitchers from Washington State University started on the mound for both teams. Ross Humes pitched eight innings for Kitsap (4-7) with seven strikeouts. Matt Crowe started for Spokane, struck out four in seven innings and allowed Kitsap’s two runs. Another WSU pitcher, Tommy Tribbett, finished the final two innings to get the win for Spokane.
Spokane catcher Tyson VanWinkle’s throwing error on a pickoff attempt led to the BlueJackets’ Jamie Nilsen scoring in the sixth inning for the game’s first run.
With one out in the top of the seventh, Crowe hit Brian Rittereiser with a pitch. Rittereiser advanced to third on Doug Buser’s double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brian Burmester, giving Kitsap their 2-0 lead.
But the ninth-inning rally gave Spokane its second victory of the three-game series against Kitsap and kept the RiverHawks in first place at 6-4.
After playing home games at the Spokane Falls Community College, this is the first year the RiverHawks call Avista Stadium home.
“We gotta keep winning and maybe the weather will get a little bit cooler, then more people will come out and see these kids,” Hertz said.
Game 3 against the BlueJackets is 6:30 p.m. today at Avista Stadium. General admission tickets are $5.