Falcons come out strong

Photo: Matt Inglis

Two innings were all the Falcons’ needed to put away the Cowlitz Black Bears Friday night.

The birds came out firing on all cylinders. A five-run first inning opened things up in a hurry, and the visitors couldn’t seem to find an answer, paving the way to a 7-3 Falcons final.

The victory pushed the Falcons’ record back to even at 9-9. The Black Bears scored in the top of the first inning, but the birds responded in a big way, chasing their opponent’s starting pitcher from the game after just 2/3 of an inning.

The bird’s bench boss, Bryan Donohue was thoroughly impressed with the way his team came out.

“Putting up a five-spot is not easy to do," Donohue said. "I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a game where we chased the starter before the end of the first inning. That really set a tone.”

It was obvious from the get-go that the Falcons were eager to erase the early Black Bears lead. The first inning leadoff man, centerfielder Chandler Robertson got aboard, followed by second baseman Lane Lacrone.

With runners on first and second and two away, Bears' pitching loaded the bases with a walk, setting the stage for a massive Brad Antchak base-clearing triple.

Daniel Nist followed that up, slapping a ball into the outfield, sending Antchak across home plate for a run of his own.

Falcons’ catcher Jake Druce joined the hit parade, scoring Nist for the fifth run of the inning.

Not satisfied with just a 4-run lead, Daniel Nist came back to the plate with two base runners on and two outs, and blasted a ball all the way to the fence in left field, clearing the bases and bringing the Falcons’ run total to 7 on the night.

That was all they would need to close out the Black Bears. Falcons’ starter Leif Strom earned the W on the night. He pitched 6 full innings, allowing just 3 hits and 3 runs, only one of which was earned. Andrew Grieder came into the game in the seventh inning, and the visitors wouldn’t get another hit after that. Grieder tossed one inning, giving up one walk and nothing more.

Max Carter closed out the game on the mound for the Falcons, pitching the final two innings, tossing a clean sheet, striking out two along the way.

Despite breaking out for seven early runs, coach Donohue says the one of the biggest factors in the Falcons’ win was the bullpen.

“Clean, clean, clean. There was never any drama,” he said.

It was an important win for the team. Getting back to .500 on the year and winning two in a row should help build some momentum for the remaining two games of the series against the Black Bears.

The Falcons are back in action Saturday at 6:35 PM. They’ll close out the series on Sunday at 6:05 before heading on the road to visit the Victoria HarbourCats on Canada Day weekend.

- With files from Matt Inglis – Falcons Media