Moses Lake suffers no hitter against Applesox

MOSES LAKE — Wenatchee's D.J. Lidyard shut down the Moses Lake offense as the WCCBL All-Star pitcher recorded the first no-hitter in league history Wednesday. The visiting Applesox defeated the Pirates 2-0 to take the series two games to one.

Lidyard's performance was simply dominant; the Wenatchee pitcher struck out 16 Pirate batters and allowed just two walks.

"He was able to throw his breaking ball anytime in the count," said Pirates coach Gabe Boruff of Lidyard. "When a guy's stuff is on, you have to focus on one pitch and take it away. We didn't do that."

However, as is the case in most no-nos, a few key defensive plays and a little luck were also part of the equation.

In the fifth inning, the Pirates' Brett Munster reached base when a strikeout pitch went past the catcher and the Moses Lake batter was able to beat the throw to first.

Following Munster, designated hitter Brent Rushin sliced a blooper into short right field that hit the ground just before the Applesox fielder could make the catch. Munster, who had to hold between first and second to see if the catch would be made, wasn't able to make it to second base before the Wenatchee right fielder recovered the ball and made the short toss to the bag.

Rather than Rushin collecting the game's first base hit, the play was ruled a fielder's choice, and the no-hitter was intact. Had Munster not reached base on the passed-ball third strike earlier in the inning, Rushin's blooper into right would have been a base hit.

"Someone's going to catch the breaks, and the Applesox did that tonight," said Boruff.

Moses Lake's other bid to break up the no-hitter was stopped in the seventh, when the Applesox second baseman robbed Pirate catcher Ryan Fobert of a base hit with a diving catch of a sharp liner up the middle.

While Lidyard turned in a marvelous effort Wednesday, his wasn't the only pitching performance worth note.

Brian Parker started for the Pirates and delivered eight strong innings from the mound. The Moses Lake product gave up two runs on five hits, striking out seven batters in the process.

"Parker threw a great game; he kept runners off base," said Boruff. "What a great pitching duel between Parker and Lidyard."

Once again the Pirates' bullpen was solid, as reliever Brian Yoakum struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning.

"I can't ask for much more from our bullpen," commented Boruff.

After opening the series in Wenatchee on Monday with a 2-1 victory, the Pirates dropped the second game in Wenatchee 3-0.

The Pirates have today off before opening a three-game series with Kitsap on Friday.