Travis Helm notched two hits for the Lefties, the only one with multiple hits for Port Angeles. (Photo courtesy of Maevis Photography)
Lefties get walked off despite a dominant pitching performance
Written by: Ryan Wike
It was great pitching from the Lefties, but just better offense for the Riverhawks.
The Sunday matinee came down to the final pitch, but Edmonton was able to pull it out and walked it off, winning 3-2.
Josh Verkuilen (Cal State San Bernardino) led the charge, going an amazing six innings without giving up a run. Through those six innings, he only allowed a handful of hits and one walk.
The Lefties have been facing some struggles on the mound and needed a dominant performance. Verkuilen did just that to put his team in a position to win.
Port Angeles went on top in the third inning off a two-run double from Jason Leon (Cal State Bakersfield). Leon was faced with many travel problems this week, as his bats were lost in transit and he was using a teammate’s bat early on. But as if out of a movie scene, the airline came, delivered his bats and the incoming senior went on to rake in two runs for the team.
Looking to keep things in Port Angeles’ favor, the ball went to Brock Mayer (Point Loma Nazarene U). Mayer pitched well in his first couple innings, only giving up an unearned run in the seventh inning to cut the Lefties’ lead to one run.
Mayer went back out for the ninth, where things began to unravel. The righty allowed three hits in the frame, giving up a game-tying triple and one hitter later, a walk-off single to William Vasseur (University of Memphis).
Vasseur had three hits on the afternoon to lead the Riverhawks.
Despite the loss, the Lefties seemed a little more lively on the basepaths, causing chaos and forcing errors in what had been a solid Edmonton defense. But unfortunately, it was not enough.
The team returns in game three behind the team’s powerhouse pitcher Colby Scheuber who, in his last outing, pitched six innings striking out 11. The Lefties hope to capitalize and take game three.
