Gilroy
– Jacob Dexter made pitching look easy Friday against one of the
Tri-County Athletic League heavyweights.
Gilroy – Jacob Dexter made pitching look easy Friday against one of the Tri-County Athletic League heavyweights. Kevin Grove made the art of hitting look almost as easy.
Dexter’s pitching and Grove’s hitting carried Gilroy to its biggest victory of the season, 6-2, over Salinas, snapping the Cowboys’ six-game win streak. The result created a three-way tie for first in the TCAL.
“I needed to get ahead of those guys so I’m at the advantage,” said Dexter, a junior left-hander. “They’re too good of hitters to pitch from behind. I felt going into this game I was better prepared. My catcher (Lukas Fortino) mixed things up. We clicked. He knew what I wanted to throw.”
Dexter pitched a seven-hitter with three strikeouts. On the few occasions when he got into trouble, his defense bailed him out. In the sixth inning, for example, after Gabe Arcoleo doubled and Nick White walked, Gilroy shortstop Michael Stevens fielded a hard ground ball, stepped on second and fired to first to complete a double play. Also, third baseman Roberto Celestino turned several defensive gems.
Pitching and defense were keys as the Mustangs left a lot of potential runs on bases because of an inability to hit in the clutch. In the third, after scoring one run, Gilroy had runners at second and third with none out and didn’t score. In the sixth, the Mustangs loaded the bases with none out and failed to score.
“If we had played a perfect game it might have been 10-0,” GHS coach Clint Wheeler said. “We can still get better.”
Still, Wheeler called the win “huge. We talked about getting a split with the good teams. Getting the first win is nice. After the first inning, Jacob pitched a great game. It was one of the best games (defensively) we’ve played in a while.”
Salinas (14-4, 4-1) scored in the first on singles by JoJo Hernandez, Michael Aldrete and Nick White.
Gilroy (9-8, 4-1) struck back with three in the bottom of the first. Danny Contreras was hit by a pitch, Stevens walked and, after a Matt Hemeon fielder’s choice, Grove slammed a two-run triple to right-centerfield and scored on a throwing error.
After the Cowboys got a run back in the second on Chris Pacheco’s single, an error, sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch, the Mustangs equaled that in their half of the inning. Tyler Osborne hit the first of his two doubles to the right-centerfield fence, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Celestino’s sacrifice fly.
Hemeon doubled in the third, moved up on a wild pitch and scored as Dexter was striking out when the ball rolled into the Salinas dugout. Grove capped the scoring in the fifth when he hit a home run over the left-centerfield fence. It was the Mustangs’ sixth hit, all for extra bases.
“It was fastball middle away,” Grove said of the pitch he drove for a homer. “(The triple) was on a slider that I went with. It was a good win for us. The defense played great.”
Salinas coach Art Hunsdorfer was impressed with the Mustangs.
“That lefty (Dexter), we knew we were going to get him,” Hunsdorfer said. “He’s a darn good pitcher. They’re a good team. We didn’t come here thinking it was going to be easy because of their record. That record doesn’t indicate how good they are because they played a tough schedule.”
That said, Hunsdorfer was a little disappointed his team got away from its approach at the plate in the first inning when the Cowboys were hitting their pitches.
“Some of that, (Dexter) dictated,” Hunsdorfer said. “He was ahead in the count. He had a good approach. We knew this league was going to be a dogfight. I’m impressed with it this year.”
The Mustangs take 2 1/2 weeks off from TCAL but will be busy with games Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and possibly Friday in the Cupertino Lions Tournament. Osborne will be on the hill at 10am today when Gilroy faces Saratoga at PAL Stadium in San Jose. James Lafuente gets the nod at 3:30pm Monday at Lynbrook.
Salinas 110 000 0 – 2 7 1
Gilroy 311 010 x – 6 6 1
Carma, Roland (5), Corvello (6) and White; Dexter and Fortino. L-Carma. 2B-GIL, Osborne 2, Dexter, Hemeon. 3B-Grove. HR-Grove.
