Farkas' blast sinks Rogers in ninth inning

By CASEY OLSON

Sports editor

Dusty Farkas is not the biggest baseball player in the world. And he’s definitely not known as a “power hitter.” In fact, all 17 of his hits last season were singles.

But the Jefferson shortstop proved to be a big bopper Tuesday afternoon. Farkas hit a 3-2 pitch over TJ’s left-centerfield fence to give the Raiders a huge 8-7 extra-inning victory over the Curtis Vikings — one of the favorites in the South Puget Sound League South Division.

The ninth-inning homer, Farkas’ second of the day, capped an amazing six-run Jefferson comeback.

“It was quite a game to behold,” coach Mike Church said. “In my 22 years of coaching, it was the best one I’ve been a part of.”

The game looked like a mismatch early. Curtis pitcher Scott Deal, one of the hardest throwers in the South, held the Raiders hitless through five innings and the Vikings’ offense was banged around TJ pitching to take a 6-0 lead.

“At that point it was pride,” Church said. “I was like, ‘somebody get a hit, please.’”

Kyle Nunley did just that. The senior broke up the no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run — opening the flood gates. Farkas, James Partridge, Jason Summers, Aaron Bronson and Steven Trenter all followed with singles to tighten the score to 6-3 entering the seventh.

Aaron Borth held Curtis scoreless in the top of seventh, allowing the Raider offense one more chance. After two quick outs, Nick Hardy singled and Farkas followed with a two-run homer and Partridge sent the game to extra innings with a solo shot to right field.

Curtis tallied a single run in the top of the eighth off Eric Fitzgerald, but the Raiders again tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Warnock. The Vikings loaded the bases in the ninth with one out, but Bronson turned an unassisted double play on a line drive to third base — ending the inning and setting up Farkas’ game-winning blast. Fitzgerald earned the win on the mound with three innings of relief work. Borth threw three shutout innings to keep the Raiders in the game.

Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.