Power Alley baseball dropped two straight July 13 and 14 to fall out of the Mickey Mantle 15U playoffs at Petrovitsky Park in Renton. The losses brought about the end of the Bulldogs season.
The Bulldogs faced off against the South Kitsap Wolfpack in the first game and the team just looked flat, according to Power Alley coach Mark Ward.
Its hard to explain, they looked flat. South Kitsap Wolfpack looked pumped up. I know they beat us by one run, Ward said of Power Alleys 4-3 loss to the Wolfpack.
Ward said he had high expectations for his team in the game. Although the Bulldogs entered the game as a sixth seed facing the third seed, Ward said he did not consider his team underdogs, especially since they had defeated South Kitsap early in the regular season in a home game for the Wolfpack.
Justin Surber pitched the game for Power Alley and started off slow. Batting woes also held the Bulldogs back, Ward explained.
The guys were hitting the ball, but they were hitting it right to their guys. Their guys were hitting the ball to gaps, thats how it started out, he said, adding, Our guys were swinging for the fences, their guys were swinging for base hits.
About midway through the game, the tide of the game began to turn in Power Alleys favor. Surber started finding his rhythm while the batters started finding holes in the outfield and getting to the Wolfpack pitcher.
Zach Engelhart hit a two-run homer for the Bulldogs, but it was not enough to win.
It was a bummer, Ward said.
The loss pitted Power Alley against another Cascade division rival, Magnolia.
Brian McPartland pitched the loser-out game on July 14, and the two teams parried back and forth before Magnolia pulled off the 7-5 win in the seventh and final inning.
Magnolia scored first and built a 3-0 lead within a couple of innings, but Power Alley battled back, narrowing the score with a run of their own.
In the bottom of the sixth, with McPartland and Chad Murdock on base, the Bulldogs dugout called for a hit and run. The play succeeded and Power Alley went on to put up four runs in the inning to take the lead and seize the games momentum.
But Magnolia rallied, scoring four runs of their own in the top of the seventh and held Power Alley to three and out in the bottom of the seventh to eliminate the Bulldogs.
You get guys on base, you get some more hits, guys start scoring. Thats just generally how it works. We just came up short, Ward said.