TOLEDO — Going into the final half-inning on Monday, Toledo held a two-run lead against Napavine. The Riverhawks had just taken the lead in the previous half-inning, and they were looking to close the door.
Toledo failed to shut the door on Napavine two days ago, but when faced with the same circumstances on Wednesday, the Riverhawks were able to seal a 5-3 win and earn a series split.
“I’m very proud of our guys for how they overcame that adversity,” Toledo coach Mack Gaul said. “We came back to the same situation, and we handled it better today.”
Like Monday, the Riverhawks grabbed the lead late. They trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the fifth, but Ryker Sorensen tied the game with an RBI single in that inning.
Nico Acosta hit a double to leadoff the sixth, and he later came in to score the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly from Joaquin Acosta added an insurance run.
Sorensen capped his complete game in the top of the seventh, stranding two baserunners to end the game. He allowed just three hits and three unearned runs while walking three and striking out eight.
“Ryker did a great job today,” Gaul said. “He was filling up the zone and pitching to contact. And his curveball was working well for him, keeping guys off balance.”
Toledo’s first two runs, which came in the bottom of the second, both came on first and third plays. The runner on first broke for second, and on the throw down, the runner from third sprinted home.
“We are gonna use our speed to our advantage,” Gaul said. “I’m proud of them for being aggressive and making them make plays. You either apply the pressure or you feel it.”
Napavine’s Layton Griffith was also impressive on the bump, allowing six hits and five runs (three earned) while striking out five.
“He’s been great,” Napavine coach Brian Demarest said. “I couldn’t ask for more out of the kid.”
His defense didn’t do him any favors behind him, though, as the Tigers struggled for the second game in a row.
“We had seven errors on Monday, and we booted the ball around today,” Demarest said. “Everything that they put on that scoreboard for two games, we gave to them … All of a sudden the last two nights, we forgot how to play.”
Demarest added that defense and pitching have been the name of the game for the Tigers so far this season, and when those two phases aren’t holding up their ends of the bargain, the offense can struggle to make up for it.
That was the case on Wednesday, as the Tigers tallied just three hits, two of which came in their three-run third.
“We just gotta get better,” Demarest said. “I didn’t like the way we competed, and I didn’t like the way we battled early.”
The Tigers (13-3, 11-1 C2BL) are still in second in the C2BL standings, and they have two games against Adna (Friday and Monday) to try and take control of first place.
The split was important for Toledo (11-4, 9-3 C2BL), which is now two games behind Napavine for second.
“If we win out, we’re in a good position,” Gaul said. “We’re hoping for that first-round bye. We stay to ourselves and play our game, we can compete with anyone in the state.”
