Too little too late for Cubs against River City
Jul. 1—Lewis-Clark Cubs outfielder Colt Kelly faced River City of Kennewick pitcher Tanner McKoy and a full count in the top of the seventh with two outs and the bases loaded during round-robin play of the Palouse Summer Series at Harris Field on Friday.
The outfielder watched McKoy's pitch sail outside, which resulted in a walk and a Trace Roberts score to cut the lead to three runs — the closest it had been since the top of the third.
The walk put an end to McKoy's night, and the Athletics would turn to closer Sam Moore in an attempt to record the final out.
The Mead High School attendee retired Ayden Bean in seven pitches for the final 9-6 margin.
"I'm really proud of these guys for sticking with it," River City coach Braden Castro said. "The game got tough there at the end, but they hung with it and were able to get it done."
Here's how it went down:
Can't get out of their own way
The nonleague foes played last week, with the Athletics coming out on top 13-9.
Following the June 23 contest, Cubs coach Kent Knigge cited errors as their biggest bugaboo, and on Friday, it was much of the same.
L-C managed to cut its errors down from five to three, but they were costly nonetheless.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Cubs committed back-to-back miscues during a Brody Taylor at-bat. The first baseman had a front-row seat to the chaos as a Brighton Schumacher pitch hit the backstop. During the wild pitch, Moore was able to move to third.
Taylor sent the next pitch in the direction of left fielder Ethan Gilmore, who failed to make the catch, scoring Moore to put the Athletics in front 9-3.
River City wasn't perfect, however, committing three errors themselves.
"I think these guys are rising to the challenge," Knigge said. "This is a very competitive tournament, and River City is very quality. We're a young baseball team, and I'm still proud of us."
A quick start
Four pitchers stepped on the mound for the Athletics throughout the game, with each member of the quartet contributing to the victory.
The group allowed six runs on five hits while striking out six.
Hanford High School attendee Anthony Chvedov got the start, pitching five innings. While on the bump, he allowed three runs on three hits while striking out three.
Chvedov didn't allow a hit during his first three innings of work but did walk four batters on the day.
The Cubs took advantage of this in the top of the third. The inning began according to plan for Chvedov and River City's defense, with the hurler striking out Garrett Hiebert to start the inning. But after back-to-back walks, the Cubs were in business.
Facing a 2-0 count, Trace Roberts watched a wild pitch fly by home plate, which advanced both Austin Topp and Tucker Green.
The first baseman dished a sacrifice fly on the next pitch to score Topp, cutting the Cubs' deficit to 4-2.
"We were trying to be patient," Knigge said. "We were just a base hit away there a couple of times from making it really interesting."
So close, yet so far
Chris Godby relieved Chvedov to start the sixth.
Godby only pitched 2/3 of the inning, allowing one run on no hits and walking three.
Zack Bambacigno got on base following a fielding error by Athletics' right fielder Gavin Yager.
The outfielder looked to make a routine play, but couldn't make the catch.
Grant Kennedy was walked next, which was followed by a Jake Ralston strikeout.
After the Ralston strikeout, Colt Kelly witnessed a wild pitch to advance his teammates and was later walked.
Godby would get reckless again the next at-bat, which allowed Babacigno to score, putting the Cubs down 9-4.
After walking Bean, Castro decided it was time for Godby to clock out, calling in McKoy from the bullpen.
The hefty righty struck out Topp to end the inning with the bases juiced.
McKoy finished his one full inning of work, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out two.
"He's a great guy to come out of the bullpen," Castro said. "He has a five-pitch mix and really throws hitters off with his off-speed stuff. He was able to get out of jams and is a great guy to have on the bench."
The Cubs capped the final two innings with the bases loaded. L-C finished the game with nine stranded runners.
"We have to be consistent," Knigge said. "Every guy on the squad played tonight, so everyone had an opportunity to get a taste, so going forward in the tournament we have to keep grinding and play L-C baseball."
Lewis-Clark 101 101 2—6 5 3
River City 044 100 x—9 9 3
Jayden Estlund, Brighton Schumacher (3), Grady Kennedy (5) and Austin Topp. Anthony Chvedov, Chris Godby (6), Tanner McKoy (6), Sam Moore (7) and Anthony Hannon-Renteria.
Lewis-Clark hits — Trace Roberts, Mason Way, Zack Bambacigno, Schumacher, Ethan Gilmore.
River City hits — Chvedov 2, John Corbin (2B), Luke Sterkel (2B), Gavin Yager (2B), Moore (2B), Logan Kruger, Corbyn Allis, Garrett Loen.
Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks
