Tides Crash onto the Islanders - By Macie Milum
Two out-of-town teams taking on each other for the first time at Richland High School's home field. The Gig Harbor Tides were victorious against the Mercer Island Islanders 4-0. The Tides got the game rolling early in the first inning after Daniel Porras doubled, scoring the team a run. Then, adding another run in the third. Gig Harbors Cole Flowers got the win for the Tides. As the game's starting pitcher, he allowed one hit and zero runs over his six innings from the mound, making it impossible for the Islanders to get on base. I talked to Flowers after the game, gaining insight into how he felt about only allowing one hit. Flowers commented, “ I try not to think about it; I just try to get as many outs as I can and just show up for my team.”
The Islanders starting pitcher, Cole Rowe, went three innings, letting up two runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking three. The Gig Harbor Tides totaled ten hits for the game, with Cooper McCutcheon, Porras, and Ryland Heckman each collecting two hits for their team. Porras went 2-4 at the plate and led the team with batted-in runs. The Tides overall were able to steal four bases in the game. They were on point in the field and didn't commit a single error.
Meanwhile, the Islanders struggled to get any hits and make plays in the outfield. Allowing the Tides to hit, steal, and make it home. Mercer, Rowe, and Baird Sirriani each collected one hit, those being the only hits of the game, and Shane Deguchi stole two bases, again the only steals on the game for the Islanders. After the game, I talked to Tyler Gilroy from Mercer, asking him how he felt the game went, as he had never played gigs. Gilroy shared, “They are a good team. They have big guys. We just need to hit the ball a little better, I mean, they hit better than us and harder than us, and at the end of the day, that's what got it done for them. We just need to be able to adjust on that so we can get some hits too”. I asked Flowers from the Tides for their overall thoughts on the game, looking into their season furthering. Flowers responded, “It's good getting back into the groove and showing that Gig Harbor can hang around just about anybody.” It was a well-played game by both, but the Tides showed and proved they wanted to win more. Both teams will now adjust on what they need to fix and get better at as they face more competition moving forward into their seasons.
