 |
|
Cougar Softball Sweeps Patten
in Exciting Double-Header |
|
Box Score (Game One) Great weather, lots of drama, great individual performances, and two Cal State San Marcos victories. What more could you ask for from an afternoon of baseball? A standing-room-only crowd at Escondido High saw the Cougars deliver just that, as they swept Patten in both ends of Sunday’s double-header. Shortstop Johnny Omahen provided an 11th inning game winning base hit as CSUSM won game one 6-5, and the Cougars bounced back to dominate game two 11-2. The wins boost the Cougars’ record to 5-7 on the season. After a scoreless first inning in game one, the second would prove eventful. A leadoff base hit for Patten, which could have been a double if not for Adam Ricciardulli’s hustle in rightfield, turned into a very dangerous situation after a couple of fielding errors put runners on second and third with nobody out. But Triolo would escape, thanks to a couple of nice blocks on balls in the dirt by catcher Dane Ponciano, and a gutsy decision by shortstop Johnny Omahen to try to gun down the runner at home on a groundout. He would, and Triolo induced a groundout to keep Patten off the board. Zuber would not escape the bottom of the second, however, as the Cougars scored the game’s first runs. Terry Moritz led off with a sky-high homer to center; one that just cleared the glove of the outfielder. Ricciardulli followed that up with a quick single, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Johnny Omahen cashed in, singling up the middle after a great at-bat. At the end of two, CSUSM held a 2-0 lead. Austin Way would stretch that lead to 3-0 with a solo home run in the third, and Jared Suwyn barely missed a two-run shot of his own, pulling it just a bit foul. Patten roared back in the fourth, as Joey Jennings drove a long two-run homer to right-center. Patten then got a couple of base hits, and a potential inning-ending double-play ball was thrown away to allow the tying run to score. Triolo bounced back to retire the final two hitters and keep the game at 3-3. The Cougars would re-take the lead in the bottom of the inning, as Terry Moritz just barely got in under the tag at home on a wild pitch. Ricardo Moran followed that up by slicing an RBI single to right, putting CSUSM up 5-3. CSUSM turned to the bullpen in the fifth, but they would struggle initially. After Auggie Richardson walked the one batter he faced, Grant Harrell walked the next two, loading the bases with no outs. A sac fly brought the game to 5-4, and a bloop single tied it up. Harrell did a good job limited the damage, however, and kept it at 5-5. David Julio came in from the Cougar bullpen and calmed the game down, hurling uneventful (and much-needed) sixth and seventh innings. Zuber matched him though, and the 5-5 tie persisted. Julio gave way to fellow ace reliever Jared Suwyn in the 8th, and Suwyn pitched an easy 1-2-3 inning. Terry Moritz led off the bottom of the 8th by lacing a double off the wall in left, and was sacrificed over by Adam Ricciardulli, putting a runner on third with one out. But a pair of pinch hitters failed to get the run home, sending the 5-5 tie to the 9th. Suwyn stayed in for the ninth, and was greeted with a rocket hit right at him. He got his glove on it, and the deflected ball was fielded by Omahen at short, who got the runner by half a step. Suwyn struck out the final two hitters to finish the inning, and Patten reliever Jonathan Cheechov threw an easy 1-2-3 ninth, sending the game to extras. In the 10th, Suwyn threw yet another perfect frame, and Cheechov would match him. In the 11th, Suwyn once again held Patten hitless, giving his Cougars another opportunity to end it. And finally, they would take advantage. Patten opened the door with a throwing error on a routine Austin Coleman grounder, allowing Coleman to reach second with one out. That brought Johnny Omahen to the plate, and Omahen wasted no time in ending it, lacing a base hit down the left field line. As Coleman trotted home, the Cougar dugout charged out to meet him and celebrate the walk-off win. Though Omahen came up clutch, and Moritz and Way had three hits and a home run apiece, the game’s hero was Suwyn. Coming into the game in the eighth, Suwyn threw four remarkable innings of scoreless, hitless ball, striking out five and picking up the well-deserved win. In game two, Cougar starter Eric Julienne got off to a rocky start, walking Patton’s first three hitters. But he worked out of it with minimal damage, allowing just one run to cross the plate on a wild pitch. The Cougars threatened to tie it up in the second. Suwyn knocked a two-out single, and Morgan Wynne crushed a ball off the left field wall. Suwyn was given the green light to head home, but a perfect relay by Patten was just enough to get him on a close play. Six walks and a high pitch count ended Juilenne’s day on the mound after just 2 2/3 innings, giving way to Johnny Holtman, who got out of the third with a fly-out. After being held scoreless for the first two innings by Patten starter Steve Enriquez, the Cougar lineup came to life in a big way in the third. Coleman and Omahen got things started with sharply-hit singles, and a walk to Hinton loaded the bases. Louie Russo got the first run home with a sac fly, and after a walk to Way, Mike Pena accounted for the second with what should have been a bloop single to right, except Way was thrown out at second. But Moritz and Suwyn made up for the baserunning mis-step, launching back-to-back RBI doubles. At the end of the inning, CSUSM held a comfortable 5-1 lead. Holtman tossed an easy fourth, and the Cougars went back to work. Omahen continued his career day with a leadoff triple, and beat the throw home on a Jason Hinton chopper to make the game 6-1. Hinton then stole second, and Austin Way laced an RBI single to make it 7-1. CSUSM would pile on in the fifth, loading the bases with two outs for Louie Russo. He would crush a bases-clearing double to left, pushing the score to 10-1. Patten rallied in the sixth, getting their first hit of the contest courtesy of a Curtis Brown single off of reliever Chris Skaalen. They’d plate one run, but a line-drive double play would keep the score at 10-2. Jackson Chapelone got that run right back, launching a two-out solo shot to right in the Cougars’ half of the inning. The Cougars called on McClinton Heil to finish off the game in the seventh, and he did just that. The converted third baseman worked around a two-out double, inducing a line out and a pair of groundouts to preserve the 11-2 victory. Patten managed just two hits in the game’s seven innings. CSUSM will look to make it a clean sweep tomorrow, when they take on Patten again, this time at Mission Bay High.
|