 |
|
Master's Sweeps Cougar Baseball in Tightly Played Double-Header |
|
Box Score (Game One) To borrow a term from March Madness, it was “heartbreak city” for Cougar baseball on Tuesday, as Master’s completed the season sweep by winning both halves of a double-header at Escondido High. Game one ended 10-7, while a wild game two eventually ended 10-9 in extras. Tuesday’s games featured a classic pitching vs. hitting match-up. Master’s College came into the afternoon with a 16-7 record and a team ERA of 2.70. The Cougars entered looking to get above .500 for the first time, on the strength of a team batting average over .300. But it was the Master’s offense that struck first in game one. Cougar ace Jared Suwyn got into trouble early, hitting the first batter then allowing a seeing-eye single to the second. A walk loaded the bases, and a wild pitch gave Master’s its first run of the game. Suwyn limited any further damage, recording the final two outs by strikeout. CSUSM threatened in the second, loading the bases with one out – but Master’s starter Ranulfo Grijalva worked out of it, keeping the game at 1-0. Master’s extended that lead in the third. Suwyn, who uncharacteristically struggled with his control, gave up a three-run homer to catcher Tyler Diamond. With Suwyn unable to establish his fastball as a strike, Master’s lineup was able to lay off his wicked slider, forcing him to throw more hittable pitches than usual. He got a lot of defensive help from Terry Moritz. The Cougar rightfielder was all over the place, making three nice running catches – two of which he promptly fired back to first to double off runners. Moritz also reached base to lead off the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of a third strike in the dirt. Dane Ponciano laced his second single through the right side, and Jackson Chapelone was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After a strikeout, the Cougars got a big break when the Master’s shortstop booted a potential double-play ball, allowing two runs to score. Cougar reliever Eric Julienne took over in the fifth, and worked around a couple of two-strike seeing-eye singles to throw a scoreless frame. Austin Way took immediate advantage, leading off the fifth with a home run to dead center to close the gap to 4-3. Master’s got the run back the following inning with a a pair of two-out base hits, but Julienne stranded the bases loaded to prevent further damage. Jackson Chapelone led off the next inning with a double down the line, but pinch runner McClinton Heil was doubled off on a ridiculous diving catch by the shortstop on an Austin Coleman liner. Master’s pushed the lead to 7-3 the following inning, and a Kirk Nungester home run made it 9-3 in the eighth. Chapelone continued his scorching hot hitting as of late with a two-run shot in the eighth, and Austin Coleman scored after doubling – but the inning would end after Way, representing the tying run, hit a ball to the warning track in right that was tracked down. Master’s added its 10th run in the ninth, and despite Chapelone driving in yet another run, the Cougars fell 10-7 in the end. Game two pitted Cougar starter Johnny Holtman against Master’s Graham Miller. Holtman, who picked up a save on Sunday and has looked fantastic at times this season, got through an easy first, with the help of a diving catch in left by Austin Way. Miller, a fast-working lefty with a late-breaking slider, walked the bases loaded with two outs, but got out of it with a strikeout. Master’s got on the board first, as Caleb Mintz led off the second with a home run. A beautiful diving catch by Tristan Gale was the bright spot of an otherwise tough top of the third for the Cougars, as a pair of errors kept the inning alive for Tyler Diamond to bloop a two-run single and make it 3-0. The Cougars had a quick answer, however. Taking advantage of an error and a pair of walks, Tristan Gale cashed in with a big two-RBI single up the middle to make it 3-2 in the third. CSUSM pulled ahead for the first time with a big two-out rally in the fourth. Austin Coleman and Ricardo Moran singled, and Louie Russo came through with a booming double to score both, putting the Cougars up 4-3. Holtman’s day came to an end after allowing a leadoff single in the fifth, leaving it to the bullpen to protect the one-run lead for the final three innings of the seven inning contest. That hope came to a quick end, as Eric Julienne walked the only batter he faced, and Diamond smoked an RBI double off David Julio. An RBI groundout gave the lead back to Master’s, and a single made it 6-4. The Master’s bullpen ran into similar troubles, as Gale greeted Tim Woodward with a monster solo shot to center, bringing the score to 6-5. Julio tossed a 1-2-3 sixth, and Coleman led off the bottom of the inning with a double to right. Mike Pena laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to get him to third, and pinch runner Johnny Omahen beat the throw home on a Ricardo Moran chopper to tie the game at 6-6. Master’s roared back. With two outs and nobody on in the seventh, Mintz bombed his second homer of the game, giving Master’s the 7-6 lead. Things looked dim in the seventh, as the Cougars had just a runner one first with two outs. But pinch runner Jason Hinton stole second, and with two strikes on Austin Coleman, he delivered the huge clutch double to left, sending the contest to extras. But the Cougars found themselves down again. With two outs and two strikes in the eighth, Master’s Steve Shaver drilled a three-run homer off reliever Lance McCormick, making it 10-7. Somehow, the Cougars didn’t fold. Ricardo Moran singled to start their half of the eighth, and after Louie Russo just missed a home run, Austin Way sure didn’t, hitting a ball that would’ve been well over the fence at any MLB ballpark to make it 10-9. But that’s where the comeback would end, as reliever Brian Reiner finally shut the door once and for all. Things won’t get any easier for the 10-13-1 Cougars, who will host powerhouse Azusa Pacific at Escondido High on Friday.
|