Kirkish pitches complete-game shutout to lead Mustangs to first
league victory of season in 5-0 nod over Palma.
GILROY – One day’s notice was all senior right-hander John Kirkish needed to work out the kinks in his pitching motion and be ready for his first start in Tri-County Athletic League play this season.
Kirkish tossed seven innings of shutout ball – allowing only two hits and walking only one batter in Saturday’s 5-0 victory over visiting Palma – to lead the Gilroy High baseball team to its inaugural and much-needed T-CAL win.
“I had some mechanical problems, but it got fixed,” said Kirkish, who never got into any trouble and did not allow a runner past second base all afternoon. “And instead of trying to overpower people, I just threw strikes.”
The senior pitcher also let his solid defense work behind him, while the Gilroy bats struck for three first-inning runs and five in the opening three frames to jump out ahead early.
“We were hitting in the beginning and it helps when you have a defense behind you,” said Kirkish, relieved to get back on the winning track. “I haven’t felt this for a while.”
The Mustangs (1-5 in T-CAL) snapped a five-game league losing streak and avenged an opening loss to Palma – which came from behind to top Gilroy in Wednesday’s opening game of the two-game set.
“We came out ready to play,” said head coach Clint Wheeler, who told Kirkish he was getting the nod the day before because scheduled starter Peter Mickartz was going on a school field trip. “It starts on the mound. If you throw strikes it keeps the defense in it. John got the job done when we needed it most.”
With the first two batters getting on base to start the game, Gilroy went to work right away as senior first baseman Todd Gimenez’s sacrifice fly scored the first run, a past ball allowed Gilroy’s second run, and Kirkish’s single drove in the third run.
In the second inning, the Mustangs extended to a 4-0 advantage on third baseman Ruben Chavez’s RBI double that just stayed fair down the line.
Gilroy then managed a fifth run in only the third frame via a Richard Chavez sacrifice fly to complete its early offensive outburst.
Gimenez finished 1-for-2 with a double, a sac fly, and an RBI, while Kirkish helped his own cause with a pair of base knocks.
The Mustang defense stayed sharp – committing only one error – to complete the smooth seven-inning affair in less than two hours.
“We’ve got 14 games left so there’s plenty of season ahead of us,” said Wheeler, whose squad opens a two-game set with North Salinas on the road Monday before returning home on Wednesday. “We’ve been talking about nothing but playoffs. That’s our goal. We’re going to play hard.”
