By Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Entering their Tuesday, March 22 game against Peninsula, the Tornados were sitting at 1-2, coming off of a win against Tenino.
Following their win against the Beavers, the Tornados immediately had to shift their focus to the Peninsula Seahawks, as they re-entered South Sound Conference play.
On the mound for Yelm was sophomore righty Austin Richardson. Pitching for Peninsula was sophomore Gavin Sheets. The two pitchers dueled through five innings, allowing a combined two earned runs between the two starters, but once Richardson was removed, the wheels fell off for Yelm.
In the sixth inning, Peninsula capitalized on the pitching change by driving in seven runs.
Sheets threw a complete-game shutout for Peninsula, allowing just four hits in the outing.
“They threw a quality arm at us in Sheets, who commanded three pitches for most of the game and we were unable to get to him,” said Yelm’s head coach Zach Miller.
For Yelm, Richardson allowed just one earned run and struck out three batters in the process during the five innings he pitched. Yelm lost the game 9-0.
“Austin Richardson threw very well on the road, going five solid innings and only allowing two runs (one of which was earned),” said Miller. “He kept us in the ballgame long enough for our offense to get going, but we never found a way to kickstart it and get anything going.”
Then on Wednesday, March 23, Yelm hosted Peninsula in a rematch from the day prior. Pitching for the Tornados was freshman righty Barrett Schnetz. Getting the start on the mound for Peninsula was Grayson Ford.
This time around, the Tornados were able to get their offense going early in the game. At the end of the third inning, the Tornados found themselves leading 5-3, with Schnetz having a solid outing through three innings.
But the Tornados ran into some trouble after they turned to their relief pitchers to close the game out.
“We were able to take a 5-3 lead in the third on some quality at bats but we were unable to hold that lead after going to the bullpen in the fourth inning,” said Miller.
The Tornados allowed five runs in the fourth inning, and another two in the sixth. Ultimately, the Tornados wound up losing 13-5. Although Yelm had a more productive day batting, their struggles came through pitching errors.
“Right now it is the free bases that are sinking us in games. The walks, and hit by pitches coupled with some errors by our defense lead to the wheels falling off,” said Miller.
Senior utility Kollin Gifford continued his solid performance batting, going 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs in the contest. Junior catcher Drew Larson went 1 for 3 on the day, with two RBIs added as well.
“Right now our focus is playing clean, fundamental baseball to try and right the ship and get back on track. If we can do that, we like our chances to win some games down the stretch,” said Miller.
South Sound Conference games continued for Yelm this week, as they played Gig Harbor on Tuesday, March 29 and on Wednesday, March 30.
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