Walnut Creek explodes for 10 runs in win huge win over Menlo Park

SAN MATEO, Calif. — The Walnut Creek Crawdads’ offense had been scuffling heading into Thursday evening’s game against the Menlo Park Legends. The Crawdads were riding a three-game stretch where they recorded six hits and four runs or fewer in each game. Clutch hitting helped them win Wednesday night, though, and that rolled over into an all-out offensive explosion on the Peninsula.

Walnut Creek had already scored three runs through the first five innings at College of San Mateo, giving itself a narrow lead, but changed the game in the sixth. Singles from center fielder Trey Johnson and second baseman Hunter Hirayama set the stage for the team’s hottest hitter, designated hitter Ryan Ellis, to do something special.

In a 1-0 count, Legends’ right-handed pitcher Teru Khan hung a splitter and Ellis didn’t miss it, catching it out in front and driving it through the windy evening sky, over the right center field wall for a three-run home run. Walnut Creek (20-15) took the lead 6-2 and would score four more runs over the next three innings, withstanding Menlo Park’s (15-21) comeback attempts to win 10-6. With fellow CCL North playoff hopefuls, the Alameda Merchants and San Luis Obispo Blues, also picking up wins Thursday, the victory was necessary.

“We needed to win today, we needed to win here and we needed to score runs,” Crawdads head coach Brant Cummings said. “My formula all the time is, throw strikes, play defense and score. And we did that, Ryan Ellis gave us a bit of a cushion.”

Ellis has quickly become red-hot for the Crawdads, seemingly overcoming early-season struggles and looking like the CCL All-Star level player he’s been the previous two summers. He laced a double and had the game-winning single Wednesday, and missed a home run by mere feet in his third plate appearance Thursday, settling for a double instead — he would then come around to score a run to give the Crawdads a lead they wouldn’t give up — before getting the big fly his next time up.

Cummings never lost faith in Ellis, despite his OPS hovering around the high .600s and low .700s for most of the year. Cummings knew that a breakout was inevitable, it’s why he’s kept Ellis in the leadoff spot for most of the year. Ellis also never lost faith in himself or tried to change who he is, and now both of them are getting rewarded.

“I know when I’m going right, it’s going right,” Ellis said. “It was just a matter of time for me. Taking a little bit of time off from baseball (due to injury), obviously, there’s an adjustment period. I think getting more comfortable has been a big factor.”

Ellis wasn’t the only Crawdad to go yard against the Legends. Left fielder Joe Coupland hit not one, but two home runs in the victory, giving the pitching staff insurance in the later innings. The two blasts tied Coupland with catcher Zach Justice for most home runs on the team, with three, and, like Ellis, came after an extended slump.

Coupland’s first home run also came against Kahn, one inning after Ellis’s blast. He took a middle-away fastball the other way, hitting it over the right center field wall just like his teammate. Two innings later, against right-hander Will Marlin, he took a center-cut slider to the other side of center field, scoring himself and first baseman Kam Taylor for the ninth and 10th runs of the game. It was the first time Walnut Creek reached the decade mark since July 9.

“It’s just taking one pitch at a time, taking advantage of what we get for sure,” Coupland said. “It’s kind of just playing (the Legends) over and over again, just having the experience against these guys and what they do.”

The home runs added crucial insurance runs to the scoreboard, as the Legends fought back to score two runs in each inning that Coupland went yard. They loaded the bases in the seventh inning with two singles and a walk against Crawdads right-handed reliever Kam Croghan, who then walked in a run and allowed a run on a fielder’s choice before getting out of the jam.

Right-handed reliever Brady Wilson ran into trouble in the bottom of the ninth inning, allowing the Legends to load the bases in the same way they did against Croghan. He then allowed a two-run double which got over the head of Coupland, before settling down to secure the Walnut Creek win. It might not’ve been pretty, but it got the job done.

“Croghan pitched out of some trouble, which is a boost for his confidence,” Cummings said. “(Wilson) gave up a couple, but essentially did his job to hold onto the lead. We did what we needed to do as a bullpen today.”

Limiting damage was the name of the game for the pitching staff throughout the game. Right-handed starter Peter Storjohann allowed six free passes and two hits through three innings of work, but only allowed two runs to score, managing to pitch out of jams. He made his defense work for him, and together they got the job done.

It was the lineup, though, that picked up the pitching staff on an OK but not great day, and carried the team to victory. Ellis took the party to the next level, and Coupland made sure it never ended, producing six of the Crawdads’ 10 runs. As the playoffs get closer by the day, Cummings will need players to step up and take over games like those two did today.

“If (Ellis) goes oh-for today, then that game, the scoreboard looks dramatically different,” Cummings said. “We need him and other guys to go because it’s not going to always be Joey Donnelly or some of these other guys. We need everyone to contribute, such as Joe Coupland today.”

By Ethan Ignatovsky