PE ELL – Through four innings in Pe Ell on Friday, Mossyrock and Pe Ell-Willapa Valley were deadlocked in a scoreless tie.
PWV’s Max Jarvis and Mossyrock’s Easton Kolb were taking turns posting zeros in the scorebook, and neither offense could muster much of a rally.
When Kolb’s day was finished after three innings, however, the Titans were able to go to work against the Mossyrock bullpen, breaking the game open with two big innings to run away with an 11-0 victory.
“Kolb is a real good athlete,” PWV coach Kent Smaciarz said. “He was able to get some stuff done … Once the pitching rolled over, we had a chance to string some stuff together.”
Jarvis went the distance, striking out seven without issuing a walk and allowing just five hits in six shutout innings. This was the freshman’s first start and first chance to get extended work on the mound, as he had just three appearances prior to Friday, and he only pitched one inning in each of them.
He’s now up to 13 strikeouts across nine innings, allowing just five hits and one run in that span.
“He was in complete control today,” Smaciarz said. “He pitched with a lot of confidence. It really doesn’t surprise me. He’s a great pitcher for a young kid, and he’s gonna be real good in the future if he sticks with it.”
The PWV (6-1, 1-1 2A P2BL) bats came to life late to give him run support, plating seven in the fifth and four in the sixth to end the game.
Blake Howard reached on an error to kickstart the fifth, and back-to-back RBI singles from Lucas Lusk and Brayden Ruddell made it a 2-0 game.
The Vikings (1-2) were able to get the next two batters out, but six straight Titans reached base and five scored in that span to make it a 7-0 game.
“We kept them at bay for four innings,” Mossyrock coach Darren Kolb said. “Then the wheels fell off … We just didn’t make plays.”
The Titans’ momentum carried over into the sixth, where the first two batters reached before the next two were retired, though their eighth run did score on a wild pitch.
An RBI single from Aiden Young pushed the lead to nine, and a Lusk two-run single was the run-rule walk-off winner.
Lusk finished 3 for 3 with five runs batted in, and he also drew two walks, while Young finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs. Ruddell finished 2 for 4 with his RBI. Blaine King went 0 for 1 at the plate, but he did draw three walks and scored two runs.
King also made a nice running catch in center field, something Smaciarz said has seemed to become routine at times for him. Overall, the Titans were nearly perfect defensively on Friday, committing just one error.
“We got a lot of confidence in our defense,” Smaciarz said. “That helps our pitcher too, and it keeps us in the game.”
For Mossyrock, this was just its third game of the season, all against 2B teams. For a team with just one senior, playing up can be a bit of a challenge, but Kolb thinks it will set them up for success once they are fully into league play.
“It’ll make us better in the long run,” Kolb said.
In Friday’s loss, Kolb said that the main takeaway is that the Vikings should be more aggressive at the plate, noting that Jarvis was throwing first-pitch strikes on a consistent basis.”
“They just gotta get up there and be more aggressive,” Kolb said. “Just a learning curve they gotta get over.”
Both teams will have some time off before their next games, as the Titans will host Toledo on Friday, and the Vikings will face Lake Quinault in its first 1B matchup on Monday, April 8.
