CORRECTION: A previous version of this article contained incorrect information. Hoquiam is 1-1 on the season and the name of the Grizzlies catcher is Nite Turpin.
Aberdeen opened its season with a win over Myrtle Street rival Hoquiam as we take a look at Tuesday’s Twin Harbors prep baseball games.
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PREP BASEBALL
Aberdeen 15, Hoquiam 5
Aberdeen overcame a shaky start to beat Hoquiam 15-5 in the Bobcats’ season-opener on Tuesday at Pioneer Park in Aberdeen.
The Bobcats (1-0 overall) trailed early after Hoquiam (1-1) scored three runs in the first inning on an RBI single by catcher Nite Turpin followed by first baseman Ryan Pullar driving in a run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
A few batters later, Jaxson Howard drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Grizzlies a 3-0 lead against Aberdeen starting pitcher Aidan Baker.
Hoquiam ran into trouble in the Aberdeen half of the third as the Bobcats took advantage of mistakes by the Grizzlies defense.
Aberdeen tied the game on a two-run single by outfielder Donovaan Hedgpeth, who was given new life after a dropped foul pop-up in the infield extended his at-bat.
The Bobcats took a 4-3 lead when Hedgpeth came in to score on a throwing error followed by a two-run throwing error one batter later for a 6-3 lead.
Aberdeen infielder Mason Hill had his at-bat extended when an infield pop-up in foul ground was dropped for the second time in the frame. Hill took advantage of the mistake with a bloop single to shallow center field to score Matthews with Aberdeen’s seventh run of the frame.
Aberdeen added two runs in the fourth when first baseman Mylan Bruner drew a bases-loaded walk.
Bruner came in to score three batters later on a fielder’s choice ground out from catcher Sam Schreiber for a 9-3 lead.
In the top of the seventh inning, Aberdeen reliever Chad Fretts – who allowed no runs or hits since entering the game in the third inning – ran into trouble by walking four of the first five batters he faced in the frame.
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen relief pitcher Chad Fretts (22) earned the victory in a 15-5 win over Hoquiam on Tuesday at Pioneer Park in Aberdeen.
Hoquiam trimmed the deficit to 9-5 when Turpin drove in a run with a fielder’s choice ground out. Fretts then picked off Turpin at first to get out of the threat and end the frame.
Aberdeen earned the walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh, scoring six runs on just one base hit – an RBI single from Schreiber – and benefiting from six walks and three errors to secure the 15-5 victory.
Fretts picked up the win, allowing two earned runs without giving up a hit through four innings of relief.
“I just came in and tried to attack first pitch. I’ve got a good breaker and I was just trying to come in and throw first-pitch strikes and keep the pitch count low,” said Fretts, who allowed six walks and struck out six in the game. “We’re looking really solid. There is definitely some stuff we need to clean up, but overall, I think we looked pretty good.”
“Chad is true and steady. He’s going to go in and throw strikes and be competitive,” Aberdeen head coach Layne Bruner said. “He got a little tired toward the end, but he’s not afraid to do his job and came in there and filled it up.”
Aberdeen shortstop Bubba Jones led the offense, going 2 for 3 with three runs scored and an RBI for a Cats squad that had eight hits and drew 10 walks in the game.
“We didn’t knock the cover off the ball, but we had some really quality at-bats in that (third) inning,” Coach Bruner said. “That was really encouraging for me, especially this early in the season. … That was a really nice indicator of what we can do, especially when we are patient.”
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam shortstop Bubba Jones (1) smacks a base hit during a 15-5 win over Hoquiam on Tuesday at Pioneer Park in Aberdeen.
Seven different Bobcats collected a base hit in the game while Turpin’s first-inning knock turned out to be the only base hit for the Grizzlies in the game.
Starting pitcher Joey Bozich took the loss for Hoquiam, allowing seven runs – six earned – on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts in 2 1-3 innings pitched.
“I liked the way we started,” said Hoquiam head coach Steve Jump, whose staring lineup consisted mostly of freshman and sophomores. “We played very fearless early and that was kind of fun. … But with a young group of kids, a seven-inning game is a long game and we need to learn to be a good seven-inning team than a good four- or five-inning team. That’s a big difference. We’ve got a lot of work, but it was overall positive. We showed some great things.”
“It feels good,” Fretts said of beating their longtime rival. “They live over on Myrtle Street just like five minutes away. It always feels good to beat the rival.”
Hoquiam hosted Black Hills on Wednesday.
Aberdeen has a doubleheader at Ephrata High School starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Hoquiam 300 002 – 5 1 6
Aberdeen 007 206 – 15 8 2
WP: Fretts (4 IP, 2R, 2ER, 0H, 6K, 6BB). LP: Bozich (2.1 IP, 7R, 6ER, 5H, 4K, 4BB).
Leading hitters: Hoquiam – Turpin (1-4, R, 2RBI); Cole (0-1, R, 3BB); Pullar (0-2, RBI); Howard (0-0, RBI, BB). Aberdeen – Jones (2-3, 3R, RBI, 2BB); Hedgpeth (1-1, 2R, 3RBI, 2BB); Schreiber (1-3, 2R, 2RBI); Hill (1-3, R, RBI, BB); Bruner (1-2, R, 2BB); Edwards (1-4, R); Baker (1-2, R, 3BB); Bruner (1-2, R, 2BB); Fretts (0-3, R, RBI).
Shelton 9, Elma 2
Elma dropped a non-league game to Shelton 9-2 on Tuesday in Elma.
The Eagles (0-1-1) allowed three runs in the first inning as five of the first six Highclimbers batters reached base off Elma starting pitcher Isaac McGaffey.
Shelton scored a run on a passed ball, a fielder’s choice ground out and a bases-loaded walk to take a 6-0 lead in the top of the fourth.
Elma’s Brody Palmer tripled and came in to score the Eagles first run on a single by Cole Gustafson in the bottom of the fourth. Palmer later scored on an error on a ground ball off the bat of Jackson Bucy to cut the deficit to 6-2.
But Shelton would add two runs in the fifth – on an error and a bases-loaded walk – and scored an insurance run in the top of the seventh on a two-out single.
Four Elma pitchers combined to allow nine runs – six earned – and seven walks with eight strikeouts, three hit batters and two wild pitches.
The Eagles open 1A Evergreen League play against Hoquiam at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam.
Shelton 300 320 1 – 9 7 1
Elma 000 200 0 – 2 5 2
WP: Crossan (5 IP, 2R, 2ER, 4H, 8K). LP: McGaffey (1 IP, 3R, 3ER, 2H, 2K, 2BB).
Leading hitters: Elma – Palmer (1-3, 3B, R); Gustafson (1-3, R, RBI); McGaffey (1-3, 2B); Bucy (1-2); Crawford (1-3). Shelton – Harding (2-4, 2R, RBI); Madison (1-3, RBI); Scott (1-4, R, RBI); Crossan (1-3, R); Kelser (1-3, R); Jansen (1-1, R, RBI).
Other games
Ocosta 12, Montesano JV 10
Lake Quinault 21, North Beach 16
