Jeremy Giesegh (Cal State San Bernardino) leads the league with his .369 batting average, earning him a spot in the All-Star Game. (Photo courtesy of Maevis Photography)
Giesegh named All-Star, but Port Angeles falls in first Kamloops game
Written by: Ryan Wike
Amazing news broke while the Lefties were traveling yesterday.
As most know, the WCL All-Star Game is back this year for the first time in five years! There is no surprise that Lefties player Jeremy Giesegh (Cal State San Bernardino) was selected. He has been the powerhouse of the team’s offense and is batting .369 to lead the WCL.
Port Angeles tried to parlay the good news into success in its first game against Kamloops, but fell on the road 3-2.
Despite the loss, Roberto Garza-Nunez (Embry-Riddle U) had another multi-hit game against the NorthPaws. ‘Tito’ also saved multiple runs today with some amazing plays at second base.
Lefties pitching seems to be back on track though, only allowing three runs in the game. The team seems to be taking a new approach though. The last two games have seen way more arms thrown in the game, with six pitchers appearing against the NorthPaws. The last game against Bellingham saw nine pitchers even with Josh Verkuilen pitching five innings.
Maybe this change is what the Staff needs to keep a consistently low score against the team. It makes sense to have the relievers pitch less per game, recover faster and be on the mound more.
Although the pitching staff threw well it wasn’t enough as the Lefties offense only picked up two on the day.
Port Angeles scored both of its runs in the second frame, as the Lefties loaded the bases with only one out. Ethan Kodoma (UC Berkeley) drew a walk to plate a run to record his 10th RBI in the WCL season. One batter later, Giesegh slapped a sacrifice fly to center to put his side up 2-1 at the team.
Kamloops took a lead for good in the home half of the seventh with two outs, plating a pair of runs off of a walk and a pair of hits to take home the win.
The trend seems that with longer travel days — as Port Angeles started its day at 5:30 a.m. — it takes the bats until game two to really wake up. With the pitching staff hitting its stride, there is a lot to look forward to in the coming game two in Kamloops at 6:35 p.m.
