Bombers Sweep Falcons - By Hannah Williamson

    The Richland Bomber Varsity baseball team was looking to bounce back after tough back-to-back losses to the Kennewick Lions and pick up a classic cross-town rivalry win against the Hanford Falcons in game one of the doubleheader on Ben Jacobs Field.

Photo courtesy of Metcalf Media (@metcalfmedia_).

    Starting on the mound for the Bombers would be junior Dallas Bennett. Early in the top of the 1st, Bennett would pick up two quick strikeouts on the Falcons, putting pressure on Hanford to make something happen offensively in the first inning. Sean Arnold of Hanford would pick up a hit, but it would be an easy ball to the first baseman, Troy Molnaa, to get the third out of the inning. With that momentum, the Bomber boys were eager to take the plate to come out strong. Trevor Kaiser would start on the mound, with junior Rayce Reeves leading off for the Bombers. Reeves could not get on base, but John Corbin would hit one right over the head of the Falcon shortstop, putting the Bombers on base first. With junior Chris Daniels batting, Corbin would pick up his 6th stolen base of the season. Daniels would hit a single RBI bringing Corbin home and putting Richland ahead 1-0 early. Daniels would then pick up his first stolen base of the season, and soon after, Charlie Johns would get walked to first base. With a ground ball to second from Jase Vopalensky, that would conclude the 1st inning with Richland 1-0 over the Falcons.

Photo courtesy of Metcalf Media (@metcalfmedia_).

    The second inning was a quick one with not much action. At the top of the second, RHS would pick up the easy 1-2-3. Kaiser would walk John Simmons, but shortly after, Simmons would get thrown out at second attempting to steal a base. The Falcons would pick up the 3rd out by catching Trey Bush’s hit at first base.

    Looking into the 3rd inning, it was a lot of the same from both teams, with them picking up the easy 3 outs fairly quickly.

    In the top of the fourth, Bennett and the Bombers would work to pick up the 3 outs. At the bottom of the fourth, the Bombers started to get into their groove. Daniels would pick up a double after a strong swing to the wall just shy of a homer. Although Johns could not convert the single, Daniels would make his way to 3rd. With Vopalensky at-bat, he would pick up an RBI single right over the shortstop to bring home Daniels putting the bombers at 2-0 with only one out in the fourth. Vopalensky would then roll on and pick up his fourth stolen base of the season. With a ball caught in the air, the Falcons would record their second out, but Vopalensky would make it to third. With the Bombers rolling, that would force a meeting at the mound for the Falcons. John Simmons would rip one up the middle, barely making it to first, where Vopalensky would make it home, putting Richland at 3-0. Bush would attempt to make his single into a double but get thrown out at the base wrapping up the strong fourth inning for the Bombers.

Photo courtesy of Metcalf Media (@metcalfmedia_).

    At the top of the fifth, the Falcons saw the hope of getting a run on the board as they made it to third base. Reeves squashed the threat with an outfield catch to wrap up Hanford’s at-bat with the score remaining 3-0 Richland. At the bottom of the fifth, Hanford would pick up a quick 3 outs, only allowing Kooper Jones, on first, to close out the inning.

    In the sixth inning, the Bombers struggled to stop the momentum Hanford had created in the fifth inning. Eli Perkes of Hanford would make it to first right off the bat to then make it home after his teammate Bryan Weston hit a bunt that led to a fatal Bomber error to put the Falcons on the board 1-3. With A caught ball in the outfield, Weston would run into the home, cutting the deficit to 2-3. Reeves would end the Falcon threat with the third out. Looking into the bottom of the sixth, Richland was looking to make up for the errors they had just made, and they did just that. Andre Ang would step in for Johns at first base with RHS at no outs. With Vopalensky batting, Ang would steal second. Shortly after, Vopalensky would get walked to first, putting Richland runners on first and second. With Molnaa hitting a fantastic bunt not recovered by the Falcons, all bases would be loaded for the Bombers with no outs. After a wonky ground ball by Simmons, Ang and Vopalensky would make it home, Molnaa on third and Simmons on third, extending the Bomber lead 5-2 with no outs. Hanford would switch their pitcher to Yamato Kingsley in an effort to stop the Bombers. Bush would do his job by plating Molnaa to yet again extend the lead to 6-2 with one out. Simmons would pick up a stolen base at third, with Reeves getting walked shortly after. Corbin would hit a caught ball to left field, which would bring Simmons home and put Reeves in scoring position on second. Reeves would steal third, dancing around the tag to put himself into a prime scoring threat. Jones would send Reeves home after putting one into the gap between the second and third basemen extending the lead to 8-2. Where Hanford would finally end the inning, picking up the third out.

Photo courtesy of Metcalf Media (@metcalfmedia_).

    The Bombers would close out the inning and game by picking up the 3 outs easily, only allowing one runner on base. The Richland Bombers would improve their recond 7-3 on the season and pick up their eighth win later with a dominant 14-4 win in game two.