Bears Drop 11-Inning Game 4-3

The Yakima Bears lost 4-3 in 11 innings to the Tri-City Dust Devils Thursday night at Yakima County Stadium. The Bears are 4-5 in the second half of the Northwest League season after winning the first half to secure a playoff spot.

The Bears broke up the scoreless game with a run in the fifth inning on a bases loaded single by Kevin Medrano that plated Michael Lang. The lead didn’t last long, as four straight singles, an error, and a sacrifice fly led to three Dust Devils runs in the top of the sixth inning. In the bottom of the sixth inning Shaun Cooper hit a two-out double and came home on a Joe Loftus single. The Bears tied the game in the eighth with a fielder’s choice ground ball from Loftus, who got his second RBI by driving in Wagner Mateo.

Both teams had opportunities to break the 3-3 tie in the late innings before the Dust Devils finally got the go-ahead run in the top of the eleventh inning. The Bears left two runners on the corners in the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh innings. Tri-City had previously failed to score after loading the bases in the ninth and tenth innings. The winning run scored on an errant throw in to first base dugout, giving a runner at second base an automatic two bases. The Bears had back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the eleventh, but three-straight strikeouts ended the game.

The loss went on Chase Brewer, who gave up one unearned run in two innings of work. Derrick Stultz tossed three and two thirds shutout ball in the start to lower his ERA to 0.93 this season.

Both teams had 13 hits in the game. Medrano went 3-for-6 with a run batted in. Ronnie Freeman, Loftus, and Cooper all had two this and Loftus finished with two RBIs.

The Dust Devils won the series 2-1 and now both teams go to Tri-City for the first of three more games between the squads starting Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15. Lefty Alex Carreras is the probable starter for the Bears and right-handed pitcher Shane Broyles is the expected starter for the Dust Devils.