Rebounding is generally a term reserved for basketball.
But for the Medical Lake baseball team, rebounding meant being able to quickly bounce back from a tough loss, fix what went wrong and win a key Northeast A League game.
That exercise took place last Saturday afternoon at Holliday Field in Medical Lake where the Cardinals pretty much watched haplessly as the Freeman Scotties scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning and breezed to a 6-0 victory in the opener.
“That score was certainly not indicative of how that game was played,” Cardinals’ head coach Kerry Kelly said.
Of course it didn’t hurt that the Scotties’ pitching tandem of starter Jake Phipps, with an inning of relief from McKabe Cottrell, no-hit the Cardinals (5-3 NEA, 7-7 overall).
Lost in the glow of the Freeman no-no was the effort — again — from Medical Lake starting pitcher Cory Wagner who surrendered just four hits, but was dogged by seven errors behind him.
“He pitched so great but so did Jake Phipps from Freeman,” Kelly said. “He’s had a couple of those. He’s always going against their No.1 (so) we know it’s going to be a tough game.”
While Freeman pitching totally controlled the Medical Lake offense, Kelly said “We were really so close, we had a couple of times.” Wagner was robbed twice of likely doubles down the line, his coach said.
“Who knows how much that would have changed the ballgame,” Kelly added.
Medical Lake’s defense put that late game-one meltdown out of their minds in the second game and that was a tribute to the maturity of his team, Kelly said.
“Playing a doubleheader, boy, when you lose a tough first game you don’t know if you’re going to rollover or you’re going to get back up, dust yourself off and give your best effort,” Kelly said. “What let us down in game one certainly lifted us in game two.”
Defense, along with a really solid effort from pitcher Brayden Hale who despite allowing Freeman (8-1, 10-3) 10 hits, got the backup he needed in the field.
Some cases in point included catcher Hudson Petek playing a Freeman bunt perfectly and throwing out a runner at second. Then third baseman Dylan Rushfeldt, who had a couple of errors in the first game, responded in the nightcap.
“(With) runners at first and second, line drive, he drops to a knee, backhands it, steps on third and lasers the ball to first (for a double play),” Kelly said.
Medical Lake made the best of just five hits getting their two runs in the bottom of the fifth and erased Freeman’s early 1-0 lead. Wagner had a pair of hits for the Cardinals, one a two-RBI single that provided the tying and winning runs.
The Cardinals opened the week with a 12-1 win at Chewelah (2-6, 3-8). A nine-run second decided this one quickly. Cole Soliday had three hits. Rushfeldt and Wagner each tripled. Rushfeldt also got the pitching win, allowing just four hits.
An RBI triple by Rushfeldt, an RBI single by Jayln Musser, a two-run single by Soliday, a two-run double by Wagner and a two-run single by Hale were key parts of that big inning.
The Cardinals began a busy week with an 11-1 nonleague loss to Lakeland, April 20 where the Hawks jumped out to a 5-0 first-inning lead and scored in every inning of the game played in Rathdrum, Idaho.
Medical Lake was at Riverside April 21 and will face Lakeside (4-4, 6-7) in Suncrest Saturday, April 25 in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].
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