SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic Yakima’s Jose Meza slides past Anderson Hay catcher Tyler Morris to score during the fourth inning of their game Thursday at Parker Field. SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic The Beetles’ Kevin Komstadius, left, high-fives teammate Seth Kline after a third-inning home run Thursday at Parker Field.
YAKIMA -- For much of this Senior Legion season, the Yakima Pepsi Beetles have struggled to find their footing, falling four games under .500.
That all changed about a week ago with a non-league doubleheader sweep, and Yakima hasn't slowed down since. In fact, the Beetles have pushed the accelerator to the floor.
Even having their Firecracker Tournament debut delayed a day did nothing to slow down the Beetles' momentum, although it sputtered just a bit in their first game Thursday at Parker Field.
After Yakima blew a 5-2 lead, Seth Kline hit a game-winning single to center in the bottom of the seventh to give Scott Wall and the Beetles a 6-5 victory.
Yakima came right back and had an easier time with Bellevue Honda, winning 8-4 to push its record to 21-18 and its winning streak to seven games, eight if you include a forfeit victory.
"People are just coming up with clutch hits and finding ways to win," said Wall, who turned in a solid effort in the first game, allowing just three earned runs while striking out nine in the complete-game effort. "This just keeps the momentum rolling."
In another game Thursday, the Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak ran their tournament record to 2-0 with a 16-0 victory over Graham-Kapowsin at Davis Field.
YAKIMA 6, ANDERSON HAY 5: As Wall said, part of Yakima's recent success has been an ability to come up with hits at key times, and Kline continued that trend against the Senior Babe Ruth team from Ellensburg.
After the visitors tied the game with two unearned runs in the top of the seventh, Yakima answered right back in the bottom half.
Gibby Briones started things with an infield single when he lined a shot off pitcher Dan Stanovich's foot. Stanovich, the starter, was able to remain in the game, but Ryan Van Beek followed with a single into shallow center.
Tyler Berman sacrificed the runners up, and Stanovich then issued an intentional walk to Kevin Komstadius, who hit a two-run homer off him in the third inning.
That brought up Kline, who had struggled to that point, with three groundouts to the right side of the infield.
This time, however, he hit a fly ball over the center fielder's head, bringing home Briones with the winning run.
"My first three at-bats, I was trying to pull the ball," said the left-handed-hitting catcher. "That last one, I sat back and wanted to hit the ball to the outfield."
"I just had a feeling we were going to pull it out. This was definitely a confidence builder," said Yakima coach Mike Bailey, who said the team's recent run is simply a case of the players, who come from several different schools, finally getting used to playing together.
"We've got players from so many different schools, it takes time to gel," Bailey said. "We're starting to play together; we're starting to put things together.
"You can see their confidence growing day by day."
YAKIMA 8, BELLEVUE HONDA 4: Kline, Briones and Komstadius had another productive game, combining to go 4-for-8 with three runs and an RBI.
Steven Palachuck led the attack by going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
YAKIMA VALLEY 16, GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN 0: At Davis Field, a 13-run second inning propelled the Pak to its second straight victory in the tournament.
Chris Demond went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead the offense. Cody Edwards, Dustin Daniels, Matt Snider and Josh Eaton drove in two runs each in Yakima Valley's 11-hit attack.
Yakima Valley moves back to Parker Field today, where it faces Frasier Valley at 1 p.m.
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