Comeback Kids
- Updated: August 2, 2019
KELOWNA, BC – The Kelowna Falcons came back from a four-run 9th inning deficit with a Jake Fischer RBI single helping the Falcons to a walk-off 7-6 victory over the Port Angeles Lefties in the series finale of their three-game set at Elks Stadium on Thursday night.
Starting pitching was strong to begin the game as Falcons starter Blake Tritch and Lefties hurler Michael Buchanan kept the offences off the scoresheet early in the ballgame with Tritch sitting down the first six Lefties he faced in the game.
Port Angeles, for the third time in the series, would jump ahead on the scoreboard and take a 1-0 lead in the 4th inning. Trevor Rosenberg led off the inning with a double off the wall in left field and was brought home on an RBI single to right field off the bat of Ethan Groff to give the Lefties a 1-0 advantage.
The Lefties extended their lead in the 6th inning and came courtesy of the West Coast League’s leader in home runs in Matt Christian. He belted his 11th home run of the season over the wall in left field that pushed Port Angeles ahead by a 2-0 score after five and a half innings of play.
Kelowna saw their best chance to score in the game, to that point, come in the 6th inning as they put runners on the corners but were not able to bring a run across to score and the game remained 2-0 into the 7th inning where the night for Tritch came to an end and brought on left handed pitcher James Shimashita.
The Falcons would find their way on the scoreboard and tie the game in the 8th inning after a lead off single from Cole Cummings and Matt Voelzke getting hit by a pitch. Shimashita moved the runners over for Jake Fischer, who hit a two-run single through the right side of the infield and brought both runs in to plate and even the score at 2-2.
The Lefties wouldn’t take long to get their lead back in the 9th inning with back-to-back bases loaded walks before a pair of RBI singles brought home four Port Angeles runs while bringing 10 batters to the plate as they held a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the frame.
Just when it looked to be set and done, the Falcons marched back in the home half of the frame as Brayden Merritt, who came on to pitch in the 9th, brought them a run closer with a sacrifice fly into centre field to bring in Brett Tressen and cut the Lefties lead to 6-3 before Kelowna loaded the bases with two outs in the inning.
Brandon Hupe came into the game as a defensive replacement in the top of the inning and stepped up with the bases loaded and delivered a three-run, bases clearing double to right center field that brought home the tying runs and evened the game at 6-6. The first pitch that Carter Loewen threw to Jake Fischer in the next at-bat was belted to right center and scored Huge from second and completed the 9th inning comeback and gave Kelowna a 7-6 victory.
The Falcons (7-12/17-28) begin a six-game road trip in Walla Walla against the Sweets (7-9/25-18) on Friday night. First pitch is slated for 6:35 PM.
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