Kaz’ Kiai Leads Rascals in Win

Kaz Yamada pitched the complete game and scored five runs Saturday to lead the Pretender Rascals to a victory over the ØHIL Royals.

- By Darren McKellep, August 10th 2013

Kaz Yamada dominated the game from the start, using his curveball to get ahead of Royal batters, then effectively mixing in his deceptive fastball to close the deal. With his crisp control he struck out 8 without walking a batter, while catcher Terje Hoaas eliminated ØHIL’s running game by throwing out two runners and allowing no steals.

Meanwhile, Rascal batters tallied 17 hits. Leif Petter lined two singles, a double and a sac fly for 4 RBIs, while Terje and Darren each drove in 3 runs on two hits. (Terje’s bases-clearing double in the 6th was the final blow.) Anders had 2 hits and 2 RBIs, while Luis, Finn and Matt also had multi-hit games.

Kaz’ counterpart on the mound, fellow Japanese native Ryo, was not at his peak on this day but lasted 5 innings with 5 Ks and 5 walks. After a gutsy relief effort by 14-year-old Nicholas Bach, and a total of 7 Royal errors, the final score stood at 19-4.

Statistical note: Terje, with his 5 at-bats in the game, reached the remarkable career milestone of 1000 at bats. He and Glenn Wells are the only Pretenders ever to reach this mark.