Cardinals rebound for wins against Rogers after loss to Colville

Medical Lake's ability to rebound has made their coach take notice.

No, we're not talking basketball, either, but about the AA American Legion baseball team who following a crushing loss last Friday, did some crushing of their own.

Tied 3-3 going into the top of the seventh inning, Medical Lake (7-2) surrendered five runs in that frame and lost for a second straight week in disappointing fashion to Colville, 8-3, in a Federal League contest last Friday at Holliday Field.

"The kids were upset and it was a hard loss," head coach Kerry Kelly said.

In his postgame message Kelly told them to go home, be upset about it but be ready to come back tomorrow. "They came back the next day with two brilliant games," beating Rogers 9-0 and 11-1 Saturday.

"We had a great game and in the seventh inning we just didn't hit," Kelly said about the Colville game. "We just couldn't close that inning out."

Cory Wagner started versus Colville (6-1), pitched six innings but had gone over the 100-pitch count, Kelly said. "We didn't want him to hurt his arm." Brayden Hale came on in relief in the seventh and wasn't helped in his quest to close out the game.

"We had an error to get things going and boy, they hit the ball," Kelly said. "We just had one of those innings where nothing went right."

The loss came on the heels of a 7-6 loss at Colville June 13 in which the winners scored six of their runs unearned. "That 8-3 ballgame was a lot closer than that score indicated," Kelly said.

But Medical Lake found a way to put the loss well into their rearview mirror versus Rogers from the Legion's National League, and Hale was one of the heroes.

The junior-to-be was one pitch away from a no-hitter, Kelly said. "He had two outs in the seventh inning, a 1-2 count and the kid (Austin Marker) gets a hit off him."

This after his coming off by far, statistically speaking, his worst outing. "To come back and have the ability to put it behind him and pitch the game he did is a real testament to who he is," Kelly said of Hale.

Brent Rosman, an import from Wilbur-Creston, had three hits, including a pair of doubles and two RBIs.

"That was nice to see because he's one of those kids who was hitting the ball hard but not getting rewarded," Kelly said. "He's really been battling through this and had a breakthough night." Dylan Rushfeldt and Reardan's Jack Walker each had a pair of hits as seven players got hits.

In the second game ninth grader Phillip Murrey went four innings, and with Rushfeldt coming on in the fifth to close things out, they combined for a four-hit outing. Hale had two of the 12 Medical Lake hits in an attack where 10 players had at least one hit.

"It's a team effort and that's what we want; we want everybody to contribute and be part of a win," Kelly said.

Medical Lake faces league-leading Freeman (6-0) in a pair of games Thursday on the road and Friday at home. Both games start at 5:30 p.m.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].