Mules win one, lose three

By Diana Zimmerman

The Wahkiakum Mules baseball team won one and lost three this week, bringing their overall record to 3-9 and league record to 3-7.

They started with two losses in a double header at home on Wednesday against Toutle Lake, first 12-1 and then 16-2.

"While these were certainly losses on the scoreboard, I feel we showed a lot of growth against a great Toutle Lake squad," Coach Garrett Radcliffe said. "They threw their aces at us, and with arguably the best pitchers in the league, we simply just couldn't keep up. Senior Tanner Collupy had a great pitching battle going with Toutle's Conner Cox through three innings. Unfortunately errors on defense really cost us. Game two was much the same."

On Friday, the Mules headed to Rainier where they lost 7-6.

"We simply could not get runs in, as we left 17 runners on base," Coach Radcliffe said. "We showed a lack of discipline at the plate and it was our downfall."

Luckily they were able to shake it off, Radcliffe added, and the Mules beat Rainier 11-4 the following afternoon, while hosting a successful Autism Awareness event.

"This was a great bounce back win from a very frustrating loss," he said. "Collupy put the team on his back as usual and went the distance with a complete game, pitching seven innings with nine strikeouts and four walks. Dominic Curl, Grant Wilson, and Cooper Carlson all contributed offensively with key hits. We kept our errors defensively to a minimum and more importantly we're much more disciplined at the plate and on the base paths."

A game with Ilwaco on Monday was canceled, and the Mules are scheduled to play Toledo on Wednesday and Thursday.

"Seeding for districts is starting to shape up so these last league games are going to be vital for our push into the postseason," Radcliffe said.