Wolf Pack can’t get wins in scorebook

Kondyra took advantage of a strong breeze to right field, allowing the well-hit ball to fly out. The two runs were the first prior to the fifth inning all season for the Wolf Pack.

Cody Pedrero also scored the first of his two runs after walking. Pedrero, the starting center fielder, reached base four times with a pair of base hits and two walks.

However, a half-dozen errors and several other defensive mistakes allowed the Sun Devils to score three times in the third and fourth innings, then two more in the fifth made it 8-2 before West Hills rallied late. The Pack also lost a late run on a technicality which was ruled as batting out of order.

A player’s number was incorrectly reported to the umpire, but unlike higher levels of baseball, the umpire did not report any substitutes to the official scorekeeper. The error was caught by Mt. Carmel an inning later to turn an RBI single into an inning-ending third out.

To the frustration of the fans, the umpire also did not notify the scorekeeper that the run did not count. So when West Hills scored in the seventh, people thought the ballgame was tied at 8-all. Instead, the third out resulted in the final out to end the contest.

The late Pack run saw Joe Thrailkill snap a long hitless streak with a sharp single to right field He advance on a Pedrero base hit, a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Ritayik, and a groundout intentionally hit to the right side by clean-up hitter Devin Bevilacqua.

Kondyra and Colton Corderman flowed with walks to load the bases, but the Sun Devils registered the final out to escape with the victory.

The Pack pitchers – Peyton Honick, Landon Bailey and Pedrero – combined on a 4-hitter in another solid performance by the staff.

Honick finished with seven strikeouts, including all six outs over the first two innings, as the trio struck out 10 batters.

West Hills completes Lions play Wednesday at noon, meeting Ridgeview High (4-6-1), of Bakersfield, to be played at Mt. Carmel.