On Friday night our boys scored first but couldn’t hold off the Portland Pickles falling 6-3 in Oregon in the 2023 season opener.

In the top of the second inning Raphael Smeenk got the Falcons on the board with an RBI single to chase home Trey Duffield who reached on an error earlier in the inning.

After the Pickles scored five runs in the fourth and fifth innings the Falcons chipped away in the sixth. Duffield was in the thick of it again, knocking home Konner Palmeira and Abe Affholter with a double. He would finish the night with two RBIs, a hit and a run scored.

Reliever Manato Tateno from Ohlone College in California was hit with the loss after coughing up three runs on five hits in one inning of work. Starter Sam Hall lasted 3.1 innings and gave up two runs on five hits while striking out four. A total of four pitchers combined to allow nine walks.

Our boys will bounce back on Saturday and take on the Pickles again in game two of the weekend set. Righty Koen Van’t Klooser will get the start on the mound.