Patriots move league mark to 3-3

Pullman Patriots Senior Legion team dropped a mixed pair of league games Monday on AK Jackson Field in Shadle Park. The losses left the Pats at 3-3 in league play before the double round slated with the Cannons Wednesday night at WSU’s Bailey-Brayton Field.

Monday at Jackson the Pats lost to the Spokane Bandits 4-15 and then to the Northstars 0-2.

The close game with the stars included a matchup between Colfax grad Brandon Hoadley and Cody Lunt of the ‘stars.

Lunt threw a three-hit shutout at the Patriots. Hoadley allowed just five hits and one earned run in taking the loss.

JJ Robinson of Colfax pegged two of the Patriot hits, one of them a double. Hoadley had the other hit.

In the 4-15 loss to the Bandits in the opener, Nate Jacobs, Colton catcher, and Brady Mooney of Pullman were recruited as pitchers after the Pats used up the pitching roster in the first weekend of the Palouse Summer Series.

The Bandits stacked 17 hits over the Pullman club. The Pats had six hits with Brett Druffel and Nick Scourey each getting two. Joe Johnson and Robinson had the other two hits.

Last Wednesday, the Patriots booked a split on the WSU field against the Blue Devils. They posted a 5-4 win in the opener and then sustained a 5-15 loss in the second game.

Jackson Webb of Asotin allowed nine hits in the first game to take the 5-3 win. The Spokane club didn’t score until the sixth inning.

The Pats opened with two runs in the first then slipped to a 4-4 tie when Spokane scored three in the top of the seventh.

Joe Johnson of Colfax was credited with bailing it out in the bottom of the seventh. He tripled and scored the walk-off on a wild pitch.

Brett Druffel had three hits in the first game; Johnson tripled and Scourey doubled.

In the second game the Devils took a 15-5 win with a 21 hit attack, They had 11 runs and a 10-1 lead after three innings. Brady Mooney tripled and Brett Druffel tagged two hits with a double. Scourey also doubled.

Sunday, the Pats bowed to Edmonton 6-12 in the championship round of the first Palouse Summer Series round. The Pats advanced to the title game after a run count resolved a scramble in the first round win-loss record.

The Patriots scored six runs in the second inning to take a 6-3 lead, but the Canadian club scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning on the way to the title.

Webb started for the Pats and Chase Druffel relieved him in the fourth. The Patriots had six hits with Webb tagging a triple and Chase Druffel hitting a double.

The Pats went into the title game after booking a split in the Saturday rounds with a 7-3 win over the Spokane Heat in the first game and a one-run loss to Kalispell 7-8 in eight innings. The Montana club scored their go-ahead run in the top of the eighth.

Scourey pitched the first six innings with Chase Druffel and

Webb each pitched an inning in the loss.

The Pats out-hit the Heat 8-6 with Robinson pegging a pair of hits with a double.

Against the Heat in the first game, Saturday, the Pats had five hits on the way to a 7-3 win. Robinson threw a six hitter. Brett Druffel had two hits with a triple.

First round of the series Friday saw the Heat score four runs in the top of the seventh on the way to a 15-10 win. The game featured 11 hits by the Heat and nine by the Patriots with Brett Druffel tagging three hits, including a double and homer. Robinson homered twice in the series opener.

After Wednesday’s double with the Cannons, the Pats will have the weekend off and then play the Northstars for a pair at Rogers in Spokane Monday.