After a called strike three, Capitola-Soquel Dodgers pitcher
Kyle Graff was mobbed by his teammates. A good indication that the
Gilroy Cardinals magical run in the Tournaments of Champions had
ended.
By Greg Chapman Staff Writer
Gilroy – After a called strike three, Capitola-Soquel Dodgers pitcher Kyle Graff was mobbed by his teammates. A good indication that the Gilroy Cardinals magical run in the Tournaments of Champions had ended.
Graff – who pitched a complete game – could only throw one more ball due to pitch count limits, but his 84th was a beautiful curve that caught the batter looking and ended the championship game 9-5.
The Cardinals were swinging a pretty good bat, but a four run first inning in a second consecutive game was too much to overcome.
The Cardinals tried to respond in the bottom of the first, getting four hits by their first four batters, but were too aggressive on the base paths.
“The kids were stealing bases on their own,” Cardinals manager Brian Chrisman said. “They wanted to get the runs back so bad. They were giving it all they had.”
Jonathan Robles did bring in one run with a double, but two base runners were thrown out before his hit, and the Dodgers led 4-1 after the first frame.
The Dodgers added two more runs in the top of the second inning. After a lead off triple in the fourth, Bryant Cid, the Cardinal’s top pitcher, was brought in to keep the Dodgers from busting the game open.
“Shut’em down,” Chrisman said when asked about the decision to bring Cid in for Mario Talamante.
Cid did give up an unearned run and two more, but struck out out five and gave the team a legitimate chance to come back.
The Cardinals posed a threat in bottom of the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Marc-Anthony Torres’ hit to the right field fence excited the crowd. But it was only a sac fly, making the score 7-4.
Three of Cid’s strikeouts came in the top of the sixth inning when he struck out the side, giving the Cardinals one more chance.
The Cardinals rallied with two outs, hitting two singles. But with two balls and two strikes, Graff threw a pitch that looked like it would be high, but dipped at the last second and was called strike three.
The Cardinals finished second out of 11 teams in the TOC. The first Gilroy Boys Majors team to make it this far since 1991.
“It has been awesome,” Cid said. “Awesome team, awesome fans.”
