Grand slam lifts Patriots to first win

 PULLMAN - From a go-ahead grand slam, to a SportsCenter-worthy diving catch, to a coach rushing off the diamond after the game to go to the birth of his new baby. Friday's American Legion baseball doubleheader between the Pullman Patriots and Lewis-Clark Twins had it all, and then some.

It also featured the first win of the season for Pullman (1-7) and the first series of the season for the Twins (1-1) of Lewiston.

Pullman took the first game at Martin J. Quann Field 9-8 thanks to a two-out grand slam by Zane Wilson in the bottom of the sixth. Lewis-Clark won the first contest with a go-ahead RBI single by Garrett Beckman in the top of the seventh.

After the doubleheader, Lewis-Clark coach Kevin Maurer didn't have much time to stick around because he had to go be with his wife, Carol, for the birth of their baby.

But Before he left, he applauded his centerfielder George Lopez on an acrobatic catch in the second game.

Twins left fielder Trey Charlo lost a fly ball and Lopez - racing all the way from center - dove, fully extended to snag the out. Later in the game, he made another diving catch in shallow center field.

"That's Top 10 SportsCenter any day and that would probably run 30 weeks in the top 10," Maurer said. "That's what I love about the kids that I coach is the display of effort that they give.

"Most people would be like, 'oh, that might drop.' George Lopez laid it all on the line."

The catch helped the Twins maintain a 2-1 lead in the second inning and they increased it to a 5-1 lead in the fifth.

It wasn't until the sixth that Pullman came alive in a big way.

Twins pitcher Coy Stout had only allowed one run in five innings, but he started the sixth with a walk on Wilson, and the Patriots centerfielder would come back to haunt the Twins later in the frame.

Later in the inning, Grady Benton smacked a two-RBI double, Reece Chadwick hammered the first pitch he faced for an RBI single and the Patriots also brought in a run on a walk with the bases loaded to tie the game at 5-5 with two outs.

That brought Wilson back to the plate for the second time in the frame, and he delivered with a no-doubter over the centerfield wall for a grand slam and a 9-5 Pullman lead. Wilson yelled, 'Let's go, let's go,' as he jumped across home plate and into the arms of his waiting teammates.

"It was huge," Pullman coach Mike Kinkade said of the slam. "We haven't won a lot of gems, but the games we've lost we've had runners on base and we just haven't come up with that big hit for so long. Finally, finally (we got one) and leave it up to Zane to come up with the big hit."

The Patriots ended up needing all four of the runs to hold on for the win.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Twins loaded the bases with no outs when Kinkade turned to his fourth pitcher of the game, John Bean. The Twins did score three runs, but Bean forced the Twins into two fly outs and a groundout to preserve the win.

"John stepping in, that's a tough position to step in the end and finish the game for us and that was huge," Kinkade said. "That's tough to do."

If that wasn't enough, other highlights on the day include a complete game in the first contest from Twins pitcher Terin Judy (4 strikeouts) and a two-RBI triple from the Twins' Chris Powell and a four-inning, five strikeout performance in the second game from Patriots pitcher Payton Kallaher.

Pullman won the second game despite committing five errors and making a few mistakes on the base paths, so Kinkade said it was nice to get Patriots' first win in the clubs' first AAA season since 2013.

"We've been shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit," he said. "We can clean that up and play better and we know that, but to overcome that and walk away with a win is really good for these guys."

FIRST

Lewis-Clark Twins 020 000 1-3 3 0

Pullman Patriots 200 000 0-2 4 1

Terin Judy (7) and Nick Salvolainen. Reece Chadwick, Kelan Becker (6) and Tristan Wilson.

Lewis-Clark hits - Coy Stout, Garrett Beckman, Bill Aspach (2B).

Pullman hits - Kyle Appel, Konnor Kinkade, Zane Wilson, Jackson Horner.

SECOND GAME

Lewis-Clark Twins 200 030 3-8 9 1

Pullman Patriots 100 008 x-9 8 5

Coy Stout, Garrett Beckman (6) and Hayden Woods. Payton Kallaher, Connor Parrish (5), Kyle Appel (6), John Bean (7) and Cal Gregory.

Lewis-Clark hits - Jaden Phillips 3, Mitch Miller 2, Hayden Woods 2, Chris Powell (3B), Dawson Bonfield (2B),

Pullman hits - Zane Wilson 2 (HR), Payton Kallaher 2 (2B), Kyle Appel, Chase Hayton, Cal Gregory, Grady Benton (2B), Reece Chadwick.