Kamloops – The NorthPaws built a comfortable lead through the middle third of the game, but Port Angeles made things interesting thanks to eight runs in the final three innings. Kamloops held on for the 11-9 victory, marking the first time the team has won back-to-back games this season.
The NorthPaws gave starter Grady Baetz plenty of support, scoring their 11 runs in four consecutive innings. Third baseman Kenner Lauterbach had a productive night with a pair of doubles and three RBI’s. The Paws were active on the basepaths with 13 stolen bases, including five from Kade Crawford, putting him in second place in the WCL for stolen bases with 12.
Kamloops sent out left-hander Grady Beatz to make his NorthPaws debut. Baetz surrendered just one run on three hits while not walking a batter through three innings. Baetz arrived just a few days ago, fresh off his season with UT Tyler.
“He commanded the zone tonight,” pitching coach Dustin Beggs said. “He paired his offspeed with the fastball really well; it was a good recipe for him,”
Dylan Dekker and Zeke Hirsh piggybacked on Baetz’s performance, with Dekker throwing two scoreless innings and Hirsh shutting down the Lefties in the sixth.
The pitchers got plenty of run support throughout, starting in the second inning. A wild pitch and a single by Camden Sanders gave the NorthPaws a 2-1 lead. Later in the inning, Evan Dugdale hit a sacrifice fly, bringing home run number three.
In the third, the Paws added two more after loading the bases with nobody out. The fourth inning was the biggest for the Paws as they scored four. Marcus Butts dropped a single down the right field line, scoring two. Lauterbach followed that up with a triple, bringing in runs eight and nine on the night for Kamloops.
An infield error allowed Evan Dugdale to reach second and brought in another run. Tate Martin singled later in the inning, making it 11-1 after six innings.
“We’ve shown that our offence is relentless,” Head coach Riley Jepson said. “We did a great job at taking what they gave us and working counts until we got something to drive,”
Entering the final third of the game, the Lefties trailed by 10 runs and had just three hits, which would quickly change.
One run in the seventh followed by three in the eighth made it interesting. The eighth inning saw the Lefties get just one hit as the pitchers struggled with command.
In the ninth, things started to look messy as the Lefties rattled five hits in the inning, scoring four more runs. With one out, lefty Christian Castilla got the call to get the final two outs, and he made it happen. The home crowd could breathe easier as the Paws walked away with the win.
“The guys will get a little more comfortable, but right now they’re still learning how hard it is to win in this league,” Jepson said.
In the end, it wasn’t pretty, but the offence stayed hot in the win. The NorthPaws move to 4-7 on the year and have a chance for their first sweep of the season on Thursday night. First pitch will be at 6:35.
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