Comeback win for the DN Grizzlies

Down 11-2, DN earns 13-11 win versus G.P.

The Del Norte Grizzlies American Legion baseball team roared back from a 11-2 deficit to come away with an impressive 13-11 win over the Grants Pass Miners on  Saturday.

After earning the comeback victory in the first game of a doubleheader, Del Norte was a terror on the basepaths in game two, swiping seven bases on its way to a 5-2 win.

“They are definitely coming through and are playing some good baseball,” head coach Eric Enos said. “They never hung their heads and they kept battling and battling.”

The Grizzlies played the two games in Brookings for the first time this season. With six players from Brookings on the team, it gave these players a chance to play in their hometown.

Del Norte struggled early in the first game, giving up hit after hit to the Miners and looking up at a formidable 11-2 deficit after four innings.

But Del Norte went to work chipping away at the Miners’ lead.

In the fifth inning, the Grizzlies knocked in three runs and went off in the sixth inning for eight runs, which was good enough to earn the comeback victory in seven innings.

Isaac Sanders was 2-for-4 with three runs, an RBI and a double. Jonathan Fertig went 2-for-4 with two runs, four RBIs and two doubles. Tim Drafahl was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. A.J.  Briganti was 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Joey LeFebvre went 1-for-2 with one run. Aaron  Fitch went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Zack Anderson went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a double.

Luke Seats pitched a little more than two innings in relief to finish the game and gave up no runs and only a single hit.

In the second contest,  Grants Pass took a quick 2-0 lead, but the  Grizzlies scored two runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning to tie things up.  The rest of the way, Del Norte was able to keep the Miners at bay and put runs on the board for the 5-2 win.

A  key factor was Del Norte’s performance on the bases with seven steals,  Enos said.

“They were aggressive on the basepaths when they needed to be,” he said.

Fertig, the starting pitcher, threw a complete game with seven strikeouts and did a good job with his pitches, especially his curve ball,  Enos said.

Briganti went 3-for-4 with two runs while Sanderson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Anderson was 1-for-3 with a run and Curtis Paulson went 1-for-3 with a run.

Del Norte improved to 6-11 for the season.

Today, it plays at Grants Pass in a late doubleheader starting at 6 p.m.