Raiders Split with Trailblazers in West Region Opener

The Pierce Raiders went 2-and-2 over the four-game-series against the (#8) Centralia Trailblazers to open up West Region play for the season. The Raiders dropped game one of the series with a score of 6-4 but ended the day with a win, beating Centralia 4-1. The Raiders took game one on Sunday with a score of 7-4, but dropped game two in extra innings (10) by a score of 1-0.

Game 1 at Centralia:
Kedren Kinzie led the Raiders in hits with three, including one triple in the top of the seventh inning that drove in Garrett Smith. Kinzie drove in two more runs in the top of the eighth inning with a line drive to left field. Ryan Stansell was the only other Raider to drive in a run when he brought home Kinzie in the top of the seventh inning. Ethan Salscheider worked the mound for the Raiders, pitching seven innings. Salscheider gave up eight hits, one walk, and had two strikeouts.

Game 2 at Centralia:
The Raiders scored one run in the top of the second inning when Bowen Stinson hit a hard groundball to the shortstop, scoring Kaden Bertram who had doubled on a line drive to center field earlier in the inning. Pierce added three more runs in the top of the third inning. Ryan Stansell started off the rally by hitting a single past the shortstop and moved over to second base on a sac bunt by Ryan Gerlitz. Michael Moore was then hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second. Caden Stinson stepped to the plate and hit a triple on a line drive to center field, scoring both Stansell and Moore. Garrett Smith followed suite and sent another line drive to centerfield, ending in a stand up double and scoring in Stinson on the play. Cooper Weygandt pitched all seven innings for the Raiders, fanning seven batters and only allowed three free passes. Weygandt only gave up one run in the game and allowed five hits over 30 batters faced.

Game 3 at Pierce:
The Raiders continued their momentum from Saturday’s win against Centralia as they took game three of the series with a 7-2 win. Pierce struck first in the bottom of the second inning when Ayden Vega advanced to third on a single from Joe Scheffler. Vega crossed home plate on a Ryan Gerlitz single. In the bottom of the third the Raiders continued to add to the score when Kedren Kinzie reached base on a fielder’s choice. Two batters later Kinzie advanced to second on a single from Ryan Stansell, and then scored on a single from Ayden Vega. Stansell advanced to third base on the hit from Vega and scored when Joe Scheffler reached first base safely on an error by the first baseman. Pierce added another run in the bottom of the fifth from a sacrifice fly to left field from Ayden Vega, scoring Kedren Kinzie from third base. The Raiders added three more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Joe Scheffler started off the inning with a single and moved to second on a passed ball. Ryan Gerlitz was then hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Caden Stinson tripled, bringing in both Scheffler and Gerlitz. Garrett Smith added another RBI when a Stinson scored on a single from Smith. Drake Anderson controlled the Centralia Trailblazers for 8.2 innings, giving up four hits, two runs, and four walks. Anderson stuck out six batters in 33 batters faced 

Game 4 at Pierce:
It was a pitching duel between Pierce and Centralia as they Raiders and Trailblazers took game four into extra innings. Kailen Kimata pitched seven innings for the Raiders only giving up four hits and three walks in the game. Kimata saw 26 batters and struck out four batters and allowed zero runs. Curran Jacobs relieved Kimata in the eighth inning, and finished the final three innings for the Raiders without giving up a hit. Jacobs walked three batters and struck out three. Michael Moore and Caden Stinson led the Raiders in hits with two apiece. Ryan Gerlitz and Ryan Stansell each had one hit. Kaden Bertram was the only Raider to hit for extra bases when he had a pinch-hit double in the bottom of the 10^th inning.

The Raiders have a week off before they take the field again. They’ll play Olympic on Saturday April 15^th in Bremerton at 1pm and 4pm, and then head back home to take on the Olympic Rangers on Sunday April 16^that 12pm and 3pm.