Mules’ district hopes dashed by Ducks

The Wahkiaum Mules’ baseball season virtually came to an end this past week as the Mules dropped a pair of road games at Morton-White Pass and were swept at home by Toutle Lake.

Last Thursday, the Mules hit the road to take on the Timberwolves and lost 9-8 in an offensive battle in the opener before falling 2-0 in a pitching duel of a nightcap.

Lars Blix absorbed the loss in game one, going the distance while allowing five earned runs and striking out four. Offensively, Travis Wegdahl set the table out of the leadoff slot for the Mules, going two for four with a walk and two runs scored. Lars Blix collected two hits, including a double, and a run scored. Dallas Peacock added two hits and a walk and Steven Doumit added a double and two base on balls.

The big blow for the Mules came off the bat of Gunnar Blix, who connected for a bases clearing grand slam during the Mules’ five-run fourth inning.

The nightcap was a complete turnaround from the opener as the Mules struggled to connect at the plate, tallying only a single apiece from Wegdahl, Peacock, Lars Blix and Mason Mackey. Gunner Blix took the loss, allowing one earned run on three hits over six innings while striking out four.

Against Toutle Lake on Tuesday, the Mules’ season rested on a matchup between two teams sitting at 5-7 in league. A sweep of the two game set by either team would guarantee a district berth for one and an end to the season for the other. A split of the two games would result in a tie-breaker to be played at a later date.

Unfortunately for the Mules, two costly innings out of 14 played on Tuesday knocked them out of playoff contention.

In the opener, the Mules fell 4-1 behind a three-run fourth inning from the Ducks.

The nightcap was nearly the same story, only the Mules lost 3-0 with Toutle scoring three unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning.

Gunnar Blix pitched a complete game in the opener, surrendering three earned runs while allowing five hits and striking out five. Peacock collected two hits, Mitchel Dault added an RBI single, and Wegdahl reached base twice, via walk and hit by pitch.

Lars Blix took the hard-luck loss in the nightcap, scattering three hits and striking out six. Mackey singled in the second inning for the Mules’ lone hit of the game.

The Mules are scheduled to play a non-league game at home versus North Beach on Friday.