A day after dropping a 10-4 contest to Adna, the Napavine baseball team responded with a wild, 15-14 win over the Pirates at home on Thursday in walk-off fashion.
After both the Pirates and Tigers got off to a hot start in the first three innings, with 14 combined runs between the squads early, the bats went quiet until a late surge.
The Tigers, down 9-6, scored six runs in the sixth inning to grab a lead heading into the seventh and final inning, but a five-spot from the Pirates made it 14-12 heading to the bottom of the seventh.
With pitchers getting tired on the mound in the two-game series, Napavine loaded the bases with a couple walks and an error, and after walking in a run, were down by just one with one out. Jack Nelson stepped up to the plate and singled on a pop fly to second, and after some confusion and mayhem on the basepath, Conner Holmes and Ashton Demarest managed to score to give the Tigers the home win.
Nelson was the star for the Tigers throughout, going 2 for 5 at the plate with a run scored, five RBIs, and a two-run home run in the first inning.
Austin Chapman also had a strong day, going 1 for 3 with three runs scored, five RBIs, and a walk. Lane Mitchell was 2 for 3 with three runs scored and a walk, as well.
“I was happy with our effort,” Napavine coach Brian Demarest said. “We kept battling. Still need to clean a lot of stuff up, but I liked our competitiveness.”
The Pirates were led by the bat of Luke Mohney at leadoff, who went 3 for 5 with a run scored and two RBIs, and Clayton Loose went 1 for 4 with three RBIs and a walk. Owen Fagerness added a 2 for 2 line with two RBIs and three walks at the plate.
Cal Bullock got the win out of the bullpen Thursday afternoon, pitching five innings, striking our four, and giving up six runs on eight hits, with just one run earned.
The Tigers will hope to build on the win against Toledo on Monday, while Adna takes on Winlock.
