Bombers Take the Win Over the Tides - By Macie Milum

The Gig Harbor Tides take on the Richland Bombers on a warm Saturday morning at the Richland home field. It was a great day for baseball, with a good crowd to support their home teams. Bombers Michael Revel threw the first pitch, and the game was off. I had a chance to talk to Revel before the match started and asked him how he felt going in as the starting bitcher against the tides, and he commented, "I feel great; it's really easy to have confidence going into this game with our defense being so strong." Revel recorded 15 outs in total, striking out three and walking two. The Bombers only gave up one hit following zero runs in the first five innings. Compared to the Tides' starting pitcher, Quentin Buckhorn allowed one run on two hits, striking out three and walking one.

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 The Bombers had multiple players contributing to the game, with Tanner Ortiz, Carter Upmeyer, and Dallas Bennett each collecting one hit a piece. I got to speak with Ortiz after the game, talking to him about his hit that led to the first run home, and he shared, "I knew I needed to hit a fastball and recognized the pitch selection and was ready for it. It felt great to get my first hit of the season". This is the only hit to get a run across home plate for the rest of the game for both teams. Heading to the Gig Harbor side, players Daniel Porras and Josh Dunham were a dynamic duo in the lineup, each collecting one hit for the Tides back-to-back. Overall, more was needed to keep up with the Bombers. The Tides didn't commit a single error and played a strong game, with Ethan Mar having the most plays with seven. 

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I ran into Bombers John Simons after the game as well and just asked his overall thoughts on how he thought the game went; Simons added, "We won, and that's what matters: we didn't do it in a way we would have liked to have done it. We need to pick up our bats a little bit, and that will change as we continue our season". The overall picture of the game came down to the pitchers leading their teams. No one was making it to the base, even though both teams had great attempts. Both teams had one more game a piece that day, so I got to talk with Carter Upmeyer from the Bombers about how he was feeling getting the win against Gig Harbor and going into the next game against Mercer Island. He responded, "I think we need to make some small adjustments and, as Simons said, pick up the bat a little bit, and then once we get a few more hits, we will string it together, and we should be able to get the win." Both teams played a hard-fought game. But in the end, the Bombers came up stronger, winning 1-0, showing the visitors how they do it on their home field.

Photo: Metcalf Media (@metcalfmedia_ )