San Jose
– Call it 2005 Mustangs baseball in a nutshell. Call it all the
ups and downs of a tumultuous season in a single game.
Gilroy battled vainly against a superior Valley Christian team
in a 13-5 CCS playoff loss Wednesday in San Jose.
San Jose – Call it 2005 Mustangs baseball in a nutshell. Call it all the ups and downs of a tumultuous season in a single game.
Gilroy battled vainly against a superior Valley Christian team in a 13-5 CCS playoff loss Wednesday in San Jose. The first-round Division I showdown saw the Mustangs display all the inspiration and heartbreak of their hot-and-cold year – brilliance on the basepaths followed by a baserunning gaffe, strong stretches of pitching with a meltdown in between.
Starting righthander Drew Andersen got through two innings before disaster struck in the third. Holding a 2-1 lead, Andersen surrendered seven runs to Valley Christian in the third, giving the Warriors an 8-2 advantage they would never relinquish.
Though the Mustangs sent three runs home in the top of the sixth inning to make it 10-5, the Warriors responded with three of their own in their half of the inning.
Center fielder Josh Sterling coaxed a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh, but Valley Christian’s Josh Espinoza retired the next three Mustang batters and Gilroy’s season was ended.
“We battled hard,” said Gilroy senior Matt Galindo. “There were some letdowns, but we didn’t lose as one player, we lost as a team.”
Sterling opened the scoring for Gilroy. The leadoff man knocked a 3-2 pitch for a base hit to get things started. The speedy center fielder took second on an overthrown pickoff throw by Valley Christian starter John Irby. On a hard hit ball to shortstop by first baseman Peter Mickartz, Sterling was around third and in to score.
Mickartz stole second base and then third on a nifty double steal that also put catcher Chris Hernandez (walk) on second.
Mickartz then flew home on a wild pitch by Irby to give the Mustangs the early 2-0 lead.
After giving up a run to Warriors second baseman Michael Moreno in the first, Andersen settled down in the second.
The junior struck out Irby, then got a pair of ground outs to take the Mustangs into the third inning.
That was when it all fell apart. Valley Christian put three across on the strength of two doubles before Gilroy could record an out.
Head coach Clint Wheeler finally lifted Andersen for lefthander Jeremy Teschera but the damage was done.
Teschera gave up a walk and a pair of hits before getting out of the inning, and all of a sudden Gilroy was looking up at a very foreboding scoreboard.
Mickartz took the mound next for Gilroy, striking out five in two innings of relief, but also giving up two runs in the fifth.
The Mustangs had a mini-comeback in the sixth. Base hits by Mickartz, Hernandez and senior pinch hitter Carlos Hernandez resulted in three runs for Gilroy.
In the end, it wasn’t enough – and Wednesday proved a tough day for all the TCAL teams involved in the CCS D-I playoffs. Live Oak dropped a 3-1 decision to Leland, while Hollister lost 7-0 to St. Francis.
BOX SCORE
Valley Christian 13, Gilroy 5
R H E
GIL 200 003 0 5 6 2
VC 107 023 x 13 14 3
WP –John Irby
LP – Drew Andersen
