LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – One week after Taylor Bryner threw the first no-hitter of the season against the Calicos, they found themselves on the wrong end of a no-hitter once again. Jason Walker of the Sandvipers threw a perfect game, retiring all 15 batters he faced in order. The Calicos have now dropped three games in a row, and they’re only two games ahead of the Snappers, so if they don’t finish the season strong they might find themselves in the wild card game.
The first game of the doubleheader between the Sandvipers and Calicos was high scoring, with each team putting up four runs in the first inning. Sandvipers starter Tom Gannon was unable to get through an inning before walking out of the game, but manager Adam Tanic came into the game, and would only allow one run for the remainder of the game. Tanic also hit for the cycle, and Gannon was a triple shy of the cycle. Trench Picone and Jason Walker both hit home runs as well, and the Sandvipers took game one 15-5 via mercy rule in the top of the fifth.
The second game of the series was a pitcher’s duel between Alex Carrasco and Jason Walker. Carrasco was able to dance around hits from the top of the Sandvipers lineup, and stranded Casey Herzog on third base after a triple. Walker was feeling it on the mound, and struck out eight of the fifteen batters he faced. Despite throwing a perfect game through five, the score remained 0-0, and Carrasco got the first two outs of the fifth inning before Tanic hit a double to put the winning run in scoring position. Gannon followed that double up with a double of his own, walking off the perfect game.
The Warbirds squared off with the Bombers in the second doubleheader of the night. In the first game of the series, the Warbirds offense erupted for 11 runs against the Bombers pitching tandem of manager TJ Brown and Jim Dodos. Hollis Hale hit another home run, his 18th of the season, and Brown had a pair of hits, but Chad Phillips was able to handle the rest of the Bombers lineup well in a complete game effort. Manager Chris “Warchicken” Warfield had two hits, a homer, and five runs batted in, KJ Lacroix hit two doubles and a homer, and Brian Puter hit an RBI triple. The Warbirds would take game one with an 11-5 win.
In the second game the Bombers gave the ball to their ace Brandon Maio, and he threw a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits, all singles. Maio also hit a home run, and Dodos hit a pair of home runs. Brown hit three doubles, as the Bombers scored 9 runs in the first two innings, and they went on to win 9-0.
The third series of the night was between The Ones and Stone Men. The first game of the series was a pitcher’s duel, with Sesai Sessae starting for the Stone Men, and Adam “AK” Koutz starting for The Ones. Both pitchers would last an inning and a third, and Sesai’s knuckleball was floating all over the place in the wind. Alan Sharples took over after Sessae walked out of the game, and Ryan Chen took the ball after AK walked out. Both pitching tandems would hold the opposition to just three hits, but in the bottom of the fourth AK hit a home run to give The Ones the lead, and that “one” run would decide the game, as The Ones would get a 1-0 victory.
In the second game of the series AK got the start again, and this time he would throw a complete game. Chen and Cody Schmidt hit back to back home runs in the first inning to give The Ones a 4-0 lead, but Joseph Carpenter hit a solo shot off AK in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-1. That’s all the Stone Men would get, as AK found control of a submarine pitch, and would only allow three singles for the rest of the game while walking zero. He also hit a home run to help his own cause, and Chen hit two more homers to get the hat trick. The Ones went on to win 13-1, and the game would go the full five innings.
The final doubleheader of the night was between the Snappers and Tomahawks. The game was scoreless until the top of the third, when Shane Weber drove in two runs with a single to put the Snappers up 2-0. Taylor Bryner hit a home run off Nick Sansone in the fourth to put them up 3-0, but in the bottom of the fifth the Tomahawks rallied for a pair of runs, but Bryner was able to strike out Tomahawks manager Jason Stephenson with two runners on to end the game.
The Snappers jumped out to an 8-0 lead in game two. Bryner hit another home run, had four runs batted in, and was a triple shy of the cycle. Weber was a home run shy of the cycle, and pitch 3⅓ innings, striking out half of the batters he faced before walking out of the game. The Tomahawks would score a pair of runs in the fourth inning on walks, but the Snappers would get the 8-2 win.
The PLW All-Star game will be on Saturday, April 17th at 7pm PDT. Tune in live on Twitch to see the top ten hitters and the top ten pitchers face off!
