Karstetter's slam leads Moses Lake
Chase Tunstall delivers a pitch against Mead. Tunstall pitched five innings and struck out four batters.
MOSES LAKE - What a difference a week makes.
Fresh off two road wins against Mead and Richland, Moses Lake (3-1) baseball returned to the friendly confines of Larson Field in search of a second win against the Panthers.
In stark contrast to the March 22 meeting between Moses Lake and Mead, that ended in a 4-1 Chiefs win, the home team wasted no time scoring runs.
Powered by a second inning grand slam by Tyson Karstetter, the Chiefs routed Mead, 11-0, in five innings.
"One of the things we've really focused on the last week is just trying to take good at bats," head coach Quintz Whitaker. "Kind of working on our approach at the plate ... We saw some of it at Richland and we really saw it today."
Cole Raymond and Jordan Lacelle ignited the offense in the first inning with an RBI single each. Jaime Vela gave Moses Lake a 3-0 lead with a RBI double.
The second inning is where Moses Lake grabbed the momentum.
With Mead runners on second and third with one out, Chase Tunstall was able to record a strikeout and a pop out to squelch any hope of a Panther rally.
Tunstall was able to go the distance striking out a game-high four batters on only 53 pitches.
"He's a workhorse," Whitaker said. "The thing is when he gets a lead he knows how to work with it. He doesn't let it affect him. He's still going to throw strikes over the plate and get people to swing at his pitch and that's what he did."
What momentum Mead was hoping to build, the Chiefs snatched away in the bottom half of the frame.
After three straight singles by Ryan Pena, Raymond and Drew Loera loaded the bases, Tyson Karstetter stepped into the batter's box.
Karstetter connected with Mead pitcher Ben Castro's offering and drove the ball over the right field fence.
"I just hit the ball," he said. "It was just down the middle and got my foot down on time and on plane."
Moses Lake tacked on two runs each in the third and fourth innings to increase their lead to 11-0.
Karstetter and Raymond led the Chiefs with four and two RBIs, respectively.
Vela and Pena provided a spark at the bottom of the order with five hits combined.
"Our approaches at the plate were a lot better than what they were up in Spokane," Karstetter said. "It let us hit the ball a lot better."
Moses Lake closes its non league schedule against Stadium April 3, 4 p.m., at Larson Field.
Whitaker admittedly isn't too familiar with Stadium, but, after stringing together a three-game win streak, the team's confidence seems to be increasing by the day.
"We're definitely climbing uphill right now and I don't expect that to stop anytime soon," Karstetter said.
Become a Subscriber!
You have read all of your free articles this month. Select a plan below to start your subscription today.
Already a subscriber? Login
