It was a forgettable day of baseball for the Wood River American Legion team Tuesday when the Highland Razorbacks from Pocatello visited Hailey's Founders Field for two Area C "A" league games.
Wood River (11-12 overall, 5-9 league) wasn't firing on all cylinders and lost both games 10-5 and 15-10. Kenny Cardona (5 innings, 8 runs, 11 hits) suffered the pitching loss in the opener and Casey Hawkes absorbed the loss in the nightcap.
Only Hawkes had a decent day at the dish, going 6-for-9 at the plate with three doubles. In the nightcap, Wood River gave up seven unearned runs and lost by five—despite out-hitting the Razorbacks 16-13.
It was close early in the opener. Wood River led 2-0 after three but Highland scored eight unanswered runs by playing small ball and getting a two-run homer by Matt Stronski. Ninth-grade pitcher Justin Allen did the rest with a complete-game nine-hitter for Highland.
Highland jumped out to an 8-3 lead after two innings of the second game. Wood River rallied with four runs in the fifth for a 10-8 deficit on two-out hits by Drew Anderson (2 hits, 2 runs), Tyler Israel (2 hits) and Hawkes (3-for-5). But Highland (13 hits) pushed across four unearned runs in the sixth.
Morgan Uhrig (2 doubles, 2 runs), Tyler Thiede (2 hits), Jimmy Pierson and Pat Patterson (2 hits, double apiece) were other batting contributors.
Wood River has opened a four-game road trip in eastern Idaho with twinbills against Hillcrest today and Idaho Falls Saturday. The Wranglers visit Pocatello next Wednesday and Upper Valley next Thursday.