Saturday, May. 16, 2009

Out-Foxed: Suns beat Braves in baseball

By Kevin Anthony, Herald staff writer

Andrew Mendenhall didn't mince any words after Southridge's 3-1 win over visiting Kamiakin in a CBBN district semifinal Friday evening.

"We got a present today," the Suns' senior leadoff hitter and shortstop-turned-center fielder said.

Southridge locked up a spot at regionals and advanced to today's district title game despite getting just two hits off Braves starter Matt Minnich and committing four errors.

"We should be thankful about getting that win," Mendenhall said.

But good teams sometimes need to win these kinds of games.

The Suns (18-4) will take on top-ranked Richland (19-2) at 1 p.m. at Bomber Field. The Bombers beat Kennewick 6-5 in the other semifinal. The Lions (16-8) and Braves (13-9) play a loser-out game at 10 a.m., with the winner playing the Richland-Southridge loser at 4 p.m. for seeding into regionals.

Southridge received a second straight strong start from Jay Fox. The veteran lefty improved to 6-1 and overcame a laborious 26-pitch first inning -- prolonged by a pair of errors and an unearned run -- to go the distance and give up just six hits while striking out three and walking none.

"It took us an inning or two to get going," said Fox, who threw six innings of one-run ball in Southridge's tiebreaker win over Kennewick and lowered his ERA from 4.58 to 2.90 in his last two starts. "We're a family, and we pick each other up."

Minnich was a big pick-me-up for the Braves. The rarely used lefty was big trouble for the Suns, especially in his first trip through the lineup. He struck out Southridge's best three hitters -- Mendenhall (.508 batting average), Clayton Homme (.492) and Tyler Roberts (CBBN-best .631) and got six easy grounders from the other hitters. All that in just 28 pitches, 22 for strikes.

"He was great," Kamiakin coach Rex Easley said. "A two-hitter and we lose."

The tide turned in the fourth, though, with Mendenhall leading off and reaching on an error. It looked like Minnich would get off scot-free after a popped-up bunt and a strikeout. But Mendenhall, the Columbia Division leader in steals with 18 during the regular season, swiped second and third before jogging home when the catcher's throw sailed into left field.

Homme followed with a single, and Roberts doubled to the gap in left-center for a 2-1 lead.

"This is what he's done for us all year," Southridge coach Tim Sanders said of Mendenhall, who scored 37 runs in 21 games. "With two outs and him in scoring position, we tell him don't stop stealing."

The Suns scratched across another run in the sixth on another error -- the seventh of the game between the two teams and the seventh of the day at a third base, including three by Moses Lake in Kamiakin's 6-0 win over the Chiefs in an earlier loser-out game.

The win should exorcise a few postseason demons for the senior-laden Suns, who won the CBL 3A league title last year and then failed to get out of districts.

"Last year we shot ourselves in the foot," Mendenhall said. "We told the guys before the game we're not going to feel that ever again."

Southridge 3, Kamiakin 1
Kamiakin 100 000 0 — 1 6 3
Southridge 000 201 x — 3 2 4
Matt Minnich and Dillon Jackson; Jay Fox and Kyle Sani. Highlights—Minnich (K) 6IP-2H-4K-2BB-0ER; A.J. Griffiths (K) 2x4; Jackson (K) 2x4; Fox (SR) 7IP-6H-3K-0BB-0ER; Andrew Mendenhall (SR) 0x2, 2 SB, R; Tyler Roberts (SR) 1x3, 2B, RBI.

Kamiakin 6, Moses Lake 0
Kody Young went the distance for Kamiakin, striking out nine in the loser-out game. Shawn O’Brien and Devan Willis had two hits each for the Braves.

Moses Lake 000 000 0 — 0 4 5
Kamiakin 020 040x — 6 9 1
Lybbert and Harris; Kody Young and Dillon Jackson. Highlights—Signorelli (ML) 2x3; Shawn O’Brien (K) 2x3, 3B; Devan Willis (K) 2x3; Tyler Wolf (K) 2B; Young (K) 9K.

Richland 6, Kennewick 5

Quinn Zorich drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth as Richland scraped past Kennewick to advance to the CBBN district title game.

Danny Jacobs’ two-run single in the fourth put Richland ahead, but Kennewick’s Trux French tied the game at 5 with a two-run double in the top of the fifth.

Kennewick 000 320 0 — 5 11 0
Richland 010 410 x — 6 10 0
Dirk Westermeyer, Murrillo (4), Eastman (5) and Tyler Morfin; Stinson Ott, Kyle Stumetz (7) and Josh Rapacz. Highlights—Drew Loftus (K) 3x4; Trek Stemp (K) 2x4; Trux French (K) 2x4, 2B, 2 RBI; Cody Shepherd (R) HR; J. Rapacz (R) 2x3, 2 2B; Quinn Zorich (R) 2x3, RBI; Zach Rapacz (R) 1x3, 2B, RBI; Danny Jacobs (R) 1x3, 2 RBI; Ott (R) 5K; Stumetz (R) 2K.

Kennewick advanced to the semifinal with a 5-3 win over Eastmont earlier in the day.

Eastmont 000 030 0 — 3 7 1
Kennewick 000 050 x — 5 8 4
Bryant and Morfin; Brunner, Dockins (5), Osborn(6) and (no catcher reported). Highlights—Sadgal (E) 2x4; Dockins (E) RBI.