ROCHESTER — To no one’s surprise, when Rochester baseball’s Braden Hartley and Tumwater’s Ryan Orr took the mound Wednesday in a league matchup in Rochester, runs and hits were at a premium.
With just three hits total, the Thunderbirds walked away victorious, 4-1.
After a 1-1 first inning, that saw the Thunderbirds score on a passed ball and the Warriors score thanks to a Tony Groninger single, the game went three full innings without a score.
In the fifth inning, the T-Birds finally got something going, with Trent Roy getting hit by a pitch, and Eddie Marson and Derek Thompson drawing walks.
With the bases juiced, Hartley struck two out, and struck out the third, Kyler Collier, but a dropped third strike and errant throw toward first scored two runs after Collier plunged into Rochester first baseman Garren Smith.
After that, Tumwater’s Blake Smith slammed the door and helped the T-Birds to a 4-1 league victory.
Orr finished four innings, with one earned run on one hit, three walks, and seven strikeouts. In three innings out of the pen, Smith allowed no hits and struck out seven more.
“We weren’t able to put the ball in play,” Warriors coach Brad Quarnstrom said. “Striking out isn’t putting pressure on the defense.”
On the other side, Hartley threw 6 ⅔ innings, with no earned runs on one hit and four walks. Hartley struck out 11.
At the plate, Tumwater’s Thompson drew two walks and Alex Overbay was 1 for 2. Rochester’s Groninger was 1 for 3 with an RBI, and Landon Hawes was 1 for 2 with a run.
The Warriors and Thunderbirds will play again Thursday at Tumwater at 4:30 p.m.
