Extra Inning Woes

The Kelowna Falcons came from behind three separate times to tie the score and force extra innings on Tuesday night but eventually fell in 10 innings to the Victoria HarbourCats by a 13-7 score at Elks Stadium.

The opposition opened the scoring against Kelowna for the 7^th straight game to open the series as the HarbourCats jumped out to a 1-0 lead as Adam Imwalle drove home Nate Pecota with an RBI single but the Falcons had an answer, in a resounding way, in the bottom half of the 3^rd inning.

After battling off a couple of tough pitches in a 3-2 count, Matt Voelzke delivered with an RBI single to right field as Dan Pruitt hustled around the bases to score and tie the game. Voelzke moved to second on the throw to the plate and was quickly plated on an RBI double from Steffen Torgerson to take their first lead of the game. Cody Crowder sent a single to right field to plate another run before stealing 2^nd base and scoring on a Lucas Soper single up the middle and capped off a four-run 3^rd inning for the Falcons.

Head Coach Bryan Donohue knows that even when this team gets behind, the bats have been consistent and find their way back into games, “Hitting is contagious for this team and we’re a resilient offensive team,” said Donohue, “This a group that I feel really works hard at polishing what they do and come with a great attitude and keep their heads held high.”

The lead did not last long for the Falcons, however, as a lead-off single was followed by two hit by pitches to load the bases in the top of the 4^th inning for Pecota, who already had a hit and a stolen base in the game. The center fielder drove a ball over the left field fence off of starter James Brooks, with two outs in the inning, for a grand slam and to give the HarbourCats their lead back at 5-4.

Victoria starter Conner Nantkes saw his night come to an end after that 3^rd inning and handed the game off to the bullpen, which allowed their first run in the 5^th inning as the Falcons struck to tie the game once again. Trent Tinglestad laced an RBI double down the left field line to score Soper from second and get the game even at 5-5.

That score would last until the 7^th inning which was the last inning of work for Brooks, who put two on and gave way to Isaac Olson out of the bullpen. Cade Brown brought home the pair of baserunners with a hard-hit ball to the outfield and a two-run scoring double and put Victoria ahead by a 7-5 score.

The bats of the Falcons came out once again as Figueroa sent a ball to the wall in left-center field on a double to get the game within one before Voelzke came through with his second RBI of the game, a single off of Ping-Chun Ho into right field to tie the score at 7-7 and get the game into extra innings.

The 10^th was a good one for Victoria, who sent 11 batters to the plate, as they tallied six runs on four hits in the frame, including a two-run double from Pecota and a two-run single to Imwalle to make the final a 13-7 victory in favour of the visiting HarbourCats.

Donohue knows these losses are tough but things are coming together, “It’s one of the things that been our Achilles so far this season in giving free passes but it’s starting to get there,” commented Donohue, “Once our guys know they have one of the best defenses behind them, we will start pitching to contact and limit the base on balls and hit batters.”

The Falcons and HarbourCats will do it all over again in the middle game of this three-game series on Wednesday night at Elks Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM with tickets available for purchase HERE.

PHOTO: Cary Mellon

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