Gilroy
– As Gilroy coach Clint Wheeler put it, the Mustangs just didn’t
have that
”
killer instinct
”
against Palma on Tuesday.
”
That killer instinct was not here,
”
said Wheeler after the Mustang’s 3-2 loss to the Chieftains at
home.
”
Champions will have it. We’re still trying to figure out if we
want to be champions or not.
”
Gilroy – As Gilroy coach Clint Wheeler put it, the Mustangs just didn’t have that “killer instinct” against Palma on Tuesday.
“That killer instinct was not here,” said Wheeler after the Mustang’s 3-2 loss to the Chieftains at home. “Champions will have it. We’re still trying to figure out if we want to be champions or not.”
The loss ruined Gilroy’s perfect record in TCAL, dropping them to 3-1 and into a tie for second with Palma. Live Oak sits alone at the top of the Tri-County Athletic League with a 4-0 record.
The Mustangs got off to a promising start by taking a 2-1 lead in the first inning. First baseman Peter Mickartz’s sacrifice drove in center fielder Josh Sterling for the first run. Then shortstop Drew Andersen crossed the plate on a wild pitch from Palma pitcher Tyler Dinner.
In the second inning, Palma’s Jake Flores smacked an RBI double to tie the game at 2-2.
A rocky fourth inning tripped up the Mustangs. Pitcher Noel DeLatorre walked Palma’s first two batters, Frank Smythe and Anthony Daoud, and then beaned Jordan Casas. With the bases loaded, Wheeler replaced DeLatorre with Jeremy Teschera. A Chieftain single brought in Smythe to give Palma a 3-2 lead.
A force out at home plate and a double play turned by second baseman Michael Stevens, Andersen and Mickartz got Gilroy out of the inning.
“I thought we did a good job of getting out of the situations they put us in defensively,” Wheeler said. “But we had plenty of opportunities offensively that we didn’t take advantage of.”
Gilroy’s best and last shot at scoring the tying run came in the bottom of the seventh when Dinner’s replacement Carlos Nieto hit Stevens. The sophomore stole second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a dropped third strike to Joe Cano. But Stevens was tagged out at home for the second out when he tried to beat out a soft grounder to third by Marc Gonzalez.
Wheeler was frustrated that his team did not get more aggressive on the offensive end in the late innings.
“When you don’t sacrifice a guy over and not go (for the steal) when the ball’s in the dirt, it kills you,” Wheeler said. “Good teams find a way to do that in one-run games.”
Gilroy visits North Salinas today at 4pm. The Vikings have given up the most runs in the league by far, and the Mustangs will have a chance to start a new winning streak.
