It took the Yakima Valley baseball team a few weeks to hit its stride. But after winning seven of its past eight contests, it appears as though the Yaks are on pretty solid footing heading into conference play. YVC took three of four from Grays Harbor last weekend to conclude its preseason schedule, and now sits at 12-8 overall. The NWAC East schedule starts Wednesday at home versus Spokane and will continue Saturday with two more in Spokane.
After winning four in a row against Southwestern Oregon last weekend, the Yaks dropped the first of four against Grays Harbor by a score of 6-4. YVC took a 2-0 lead early, but three runs in the top of the sixth and two in the ninth were the difference. Hank Dunn went 3-for-5, Owen Bischoff was 2-for-5 with two RBI and Danny Burns was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Brock Molenda also drove in a run for the Yaks, who were outhit 14-11. Starter Lee Souza threw four scoreless innings and struck out four.
Saturday's game two was far more decisive as the Yaks plated four runs in the fourth and four more in the seventh for a 10-0 victory. Carson Judd and Quentin O'Connor combined for a no-hit shutout, while Molenda delivered a homer and four RBIs at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Dane Fraser was 2-for-4 with two RBI, Joe Taylor was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Corey Jarrell and Dunn each drove in a run.
Sunday's twin bill proved to be a stiffer test, but the Yaks still prevailed 7-3 and 7-4. In game one, they took a 5-0 lead through five innings before allowing three runs in the top of the sixth. Ryne Hays socked a home run and drove in two runs, Jarrell was 2-for-4 with three RBI and Dunn was 2-for-5 with three runs scored. Taylor also delivered two hits, including a triple, to back starter Coby Richards, who allowed two hits and zero earned runs in six innings of work. Rustin Edmiston struck out four batters in three innings to pick up the save.
YVC started hot again in game two, scoring four runs in the first inning. Grays Harbor scored three in the top of the third, but the Yaks answered with one in the bottom half, plus insurance runs in the fourth and seventh. Five batters recorded multiple hits, led by Spencer Marenco, who finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Dunn, Jarrell, Bischoff and Taylor added two hits apiece, while Dunn, Molenda, Taylor and Bischoff drove in one run each. Jagger Harris pitched four innings of relief to pick up the victory, and Trevor Sorenson earned the save with a scoreless ninth.
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