Panthers pierce Lancers in league opener
Mar. 27—ASOTIN — Cody Ells and Gavin Ells had dominant outings in Game 1 and Cameron Clovis had four RBI in Game 2 to lead Asotin baseball to a Northeast 2B doubleheader sweep on Tuesday at Ray Norton Field. The Panthers beat visiting Liberty of Spangle, Wash., by scores of 7-1 and 12-2.
"I thought (the team) nailed it in the first game," Asotin coach Jim Holman said. "I thought Cody and Gavin pitched really well. (Liberty) never really threatened, which is what we expect from (those pitchers). ... Our approach at the plate wasn't very good in the first game. We should put the ball in play more. In the second game, I thought our approach was better at the plate."
The doubleheader against the Lancers was just the third and fourth games for Asotin this season. Even without a lot of game time so far, the Panthers showed poise despite several high-pressure situations:
Olerich stays composed
The Panthers (3-1, 2-0 Northeast 2B) allowed just two hits in Game 1. Liberty (3-5, 1-3) exceeded that number with three hits in its first three at-bats in Game 2. The Lancers scored the second of their three runs on the day in the top of the first with no outs and two runners on the base paths.
Asotin's Game 2 starter, AJ Olerich, got out of the jam and two Liberty runners were left stranded. In the second inning, that left another runner on. In the third inning, they marooned another two.
Olerich's day was done after three innings pitched, but his and the Panther defense's composure in those jams was solid. Especially with just a couple of games under their belt coming into Tuesday.
"Some days you don't have your best stuff," Holman said. "And (Olerich) didn't have his best stuff today, but he competed and battled. And it was good enough and our defense was enough to hold (Liberty) down. And I thought our defense was really good in the second game and a lot more competitive."
On offense, Asotin made sure the defensive efforts were rewarded.
The Panthers scored three runs in the bottom of the first to make the Lancers' lead short-lived. After a scoreless second, Asotin put up three runs in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings. A ground ball by Sam Hall in the bottom of the fifth led to a fielding error by Liberty second baseman Brody Mitchell.
That error brought home Colt Kelley for Asotin's 12th run of the game — a walk-off score that capped off a 10-run mercy-rule win.
Clovis brought in a third of the Panthers' 12 runs in the nightcap. He had a two-RBI double in the bottom of the first to score both Ells brothers. He brought in Gavin Ells again in the bottom of the third (an error by an infielder on a grounder). His last RBI of the game was a solidly hit ground ball, resulting in another error, in the bottom of the fourth.
"I feel awesome," Clovis said. "Our offense wasn't the best to start out the first game. But I feel like our defense was super solid both games, which is going to be super helpful for us the whole rest of the season. Our offense will figure itself out. It started getting better as the games went on."
Ells brothers show out on the mound
The pitching in Game 1 helped make up for Asotin's stop-and-go offense. Cody Ells started the game and Gavin Ells pitched in relief. The two combined for nine strikeouts and let up two hits.
Gavin Ells allowed no hits and struck out three batters in his two innings of relief.
Cody Ells made it through five innings despite being on a pitch count. He was limited in preparation for another league twinbill scheduled for Saturday against Chewelah.
The Panthers started off strong on offense early. They scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 4-0 lead. But they mustered just three combined runs the rest of the game.
"We just kind of had to change our approaches a little bit," Clovis said. "We were just trying to do a little too much (in Game 1), honestly. We just need to stick to a little bit more of what we know: move the runners around the bases and then just do what we need to do to bring them in. We decided to change our approach a little bit — shorten our swings and get runners in."
Panthers to be on the field a lot more
Asotin will start to get back to a consistent schedule after hardly playing the first two weeks of the season. It will have doubleheaders, most of them against league competition, primarily on Tuesdays and Saturdays going forward.
The Panthers' doubleheader wasn't perfect, but it was a good showing from a team that played in just two games going into it. Asotin won in two different fashions — a good sign that the team will not be caught off guard easily in the Northeast 2B League this season.
"I think (Tuesday's wins) are encouraging," Holman said. "We play Chewelah (on) Saturday — those are big league games for us. ... Boat load of games coming up. To be able to adjust during (Tuesday's) games gives us some confidence going in. They'll be able to do it as we move forward.
"We should compete for a league title and at a state level. And if we're to do that, then we need to keep getting better each day."
GAME 1
Liberty 000 010 0—1 2 3
Asotin 040 021 x—7 7 0
JJ Hodl, Moxon Strobel (2) and Clae Holling; Cody Ells, Gavin Ells (6) and Cameron Clovis. W—C. Ells; L—Hodl.
Liberty hits — Hodl, Gunner Stephens.
Asotin hits — Cody Ells 2, Colt Kelley, Gavin Ells, Sam Hall, Justin Boyea, Chase Engle.
------
GAME 2
Liberty 100 10— 2 5 4
Asotin 303 33—12 9 0
Maddox Strobel, Clae Holling (5) and Thomas Domrese; AJ Olerich, Sam Hall (4) and Sam Hall, Cameron Clovis (4). W—Olerich; L—Strobel.
Liberty hits — Strobel, Caleb Noccmeyer, Clae Holling, Brody Mitchell, Zayne Braun.
Asotin hits — Gavin Ells 2, Clovis (2B), Colt Kelley, Cody Ells, Justin Boyea, Olerich, Chase Engle, Sawyer Biery.
Kowatsch can be contacted at 208-848-2268, tkowatsch@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.
