Cruisers Baseball end three-game skid with a win over Cardinals

Reeling from a three-game losing streak, the Eatonville Cruiser  Baseball team was looking to turn things around last week when they travelled to Parkland to take on the Cardinals at Franklin Pierce High School.

The Cruisers got things going early in the first inning when freshman Blain Hanley hit a hard liner to center that would score Ryan Rogers and Jordan Lamb.

Jarod Humphrey started on the mound for Eatonville. The Cardinals struck back in the bottom of the first inning with two runs of their own.  

The game stayed knotted at two until the bottom of the fourth inning. After Skyler Sarpy reached on an error and Zach Smith walked, freshman Jacob Lucht ripped a double to left field that scored Sarpy. With Smith on third and Lucht at second, Humphrey stepped to the plate and hit a hard drive to center that scored Smith and Lucht to give the Cruisers a 5-2 lead.

The Cruisers plated one more run in the fifth inning. Hanley singled and advanced to third on a Caden Jumper single. Hanley then stole home to put the Cruisers up 6-2.

The Cardinals picked up another run in the sixth inning and that was it. The Cruisers picked up the win 6-3 and ended their bad luck streak for the season.

Hanley picked up the win for the Cruisers after coming in relief for Humphrey in the second inning. Hanley pitched 4.2 innings only giving up one run on one hit, walking two and striking out five. Lucht and Smith both pitched one inning in relief.

Summary

Eatonville vs.  Franklin Pierce 6-3 W – WP: B. Hanley (4.2IP, 1R, 1H, 2B, 5K) J. Humphrey 2-3, 2RBI / B. Hanley 2-4, 1R, 2RBI / C. Jumper 2-4 / J. Lucht 1-4, 2B, 1R, 1RBI / R. Rogers 1-4, 1R / J. Kondra 1-3

EATONVILLE HEAD TO THE MOUNTAINS

Riding high from their win over Franklin Pierce, the Cruisers packed up and headed over the mountains to Yakima to take on the East Valley Red Devils in a non-league game on Friday, April 12.

The Cruisers got on the board first in the third inning. Brandon Storm drew a leadoff walk.  Smith followed that with a single to right field. After a couple of Cruiser batters were retired by strikeout, Ryan Rogers ripped a single to center to score Storm.  Smith advanced to third on an error by the pitcher and then scored on a wild pitch to finish off the scoring during the inning for the Cruisers.

Collin Blake cruised through the first three innings of play before the Red Devils finally got to him in the fourth. After a couple of singles, Blake walked the next batter to load the bases but not before the Cruisers got their first out of the inning when catcher Rogers threw out a Red Devil runner trying to steal third. Blake then issued a four-pitch walk to load the bases. East Valley picked up a run during the next at bat with a steal of home plate. They scored two more runs in the inning to take a 3-2 lead. They picked up an insurance run in the fifth inning and held on for the 4-2 win over the Cruisers.

Blake picked up the loss for the Cruisers. His pitching line on the day would be five innings pitched, four runs on seven hits; he walked three and struck out five Red Devil batters on the day. Lucht pitched the final inning for the Cruisers giving up no runs, no hits and striking out two.

This loss drops the Cruisers record to 7-7 overall and 4-4 in league play.

Next Up

The Cruisers will take on Fife High School on Wednesday, April 17, and Franklin Pierce High School on Thursday, April 18, at home before traveling to Lakewood to take on Clover Park High School on Friday, April 19.

Summary

Eatonville Vs. East Valley 4-2 L – LP: C. Blake (5IP, 4R, 7H, 3BB, 5K) Z. Smith 1-3, 1R / R. Rogers 1-2, 1RBI / B. Storm 1-3, 1R