The R.A. Long Summer Jacks survived a late comeback attempt from the Rural Baseball Inc. Dirtbags to take a 5-3 victory on Tuesday night at The Lumberyard.
The Summer Jacks scored all five of their runs in the third inning. Jeff Rooklidge, Riley Young and Jonah Cadigan all tallied consecutive RBI singles in the frame. Steven McCabe walked and Kolby Knudsen hit a sacrifice fly for the remaining runs for the hosts.
Down 5-0 after five innings, the Dirtbags did not quit. The Rural Baseball consortium scored three straight runs in the final two innings, but it wasn’t enough.
Trajen Ford (Ilwaco) got RBI on the board after an R.A. Long error in the sixth. Gavin Frewing (Toledo) and Corbin Johnson (Ilwaco) found their way home in the seventh on passed balls.
Frewing and Peyton (Bunn) Robbins registered the only two hits of the night for the Dirtbags.
Young picked up the win for the Jacks after striking out eight batters and giving away two hits and no earned runs in 6 2/3 innings of starting work.
The southpaw has been playing for the Dirtbags throughout the summer, but on Tuesday, he suited up for his hometown Summer Jacks. With a hit against RBI, he increased his hitting streak for the Jacks to 11 straight games.
Hunter Gutenberger (Rainier) took the loss for the Dirtbags after giving up four hits and five earned runs in four innings of starting action.
The Summer Jacks (8-3) are set to face the Centerfield Storm 18u squad on Thursday on the road at 5:30 p.m. Before that, they were set to face Centralia on the road on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The Dirtbags (16-3) are set to host the Clark County Mavs on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Prior to that, a Rural Baseball split-squad was set to face JBD Athletics at David Story Field on Wednesday at 6 p.m. for a nine-inning contest.
Dirtbags sweep back-to-back doubleheaders
By The Chronicle staff
Before falling to the Summer Jacks, the Dirtbags rattled off four wins over the weekend, sweeping a pair of road doubleheaders against the Storm Chasers and the Thurston County En Fuego.
The Dirtbags won the pair against En Fuego 13-3 and 4-1 on Saturday. Dom Rowland (Chehalis) collected a pair of hits in Game 1, including a home run, and he drove in three. Gavin Frewing (Toledo) went 1 for 2 with a double and an RBI, and he also came around to scored a run.
Tre Groninger (Rochester) also tallied two hits and scored a run.
The bats weren’t as hot in Game 2, a 4-1 win, but Josh Hanson (Toutle) struck out six in a complete game on the mound, allowing just one earned run. Rowland added a hit, drove in a run, and scored a run.
Groninger earned the win in Game 1 on Sunday, also a 4-1 win, as he allowed just two hits and an unearned run while striking out nine. Frewing again went 1 for 2 with a double and an RBI.
Game 2 ended after just two innings, as the Storm forfeited in the top of the third after a challenge. A pair of runs in the top of the first on a Riley Young (R.A. Long) single was enough for Frewing, who allowed two hits and a run while striking out three in a pair of innings on the bump.
“It was a great weekend for our pitchers,” Dirtbags coach Nayt Taylor said. “They took care of our bullpen on a busy week by throwing four consecutive complete games and they did that by attacking the zone and making the hitters get themselves out.”
