GILROY – Senior pitcher Tyler Price said he had never come close
to what he accomplished out on the mound in Gilroy High’s 10-0
drubbing of Alisal on Tuesday.
Striking out seven Trojans, Price tossed a perfect game in the
10-run mercy-rule-shortened game.
GILROY – Senior pitcher Tyler Price said he had never come close to what he accomplished out on the mound in Gilroy High’s 10-0 drubbing of Alisal on Tuesday.
But with his performance, it appeared as though he knew how to handle it.
Striking out seven Trojans, Price tossed a perfect game in the 10-run mercy-rule-shortened game, pushing the Mustangs to 4-0 in the Tri-County Athletic League with Palma looming on Friday.
Flawless through five innings of work, the right-handed hurler was dominant and the defense behind him was stout.
“I started thinking about it coming in after the fourth inning. I started getting a little nervous toward the end,” Price said. “My ball just had a lot of movement on it. My slider was working. I kept them off balance a little bit.”
Price worked quickly and didn’t allow many batters work deep into the count.
“He was on today. He was dealing,” manager Johnny Ramirez said. “He kept his pitches down low, exactly what our pitching coach has been working on with him. What is even more impressive is the no walks.”
Complimenting Price’s efficiency on the mound was an eager Mustangs team at the plate, which didn’t wait around to put crooked numbers on the scoreboard.
Gilroy has scored at least one run in the first inning in each of its four games this season, and on Tuesday, the Mustangs kept that trend scoring two runs in the opening frame.
Bubu Garcia drove in Taylor Chris who yanked a double down the right field line one batter earlier. Eric Vegas followed with an RBI-double to plate Garcia.
“The first inning is the most important for us,” Ramirez said. “Get out of the gates early; get ahead and work ahead, help the pitchers out. That’s what we did.”
The Mustangs tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the second inning. Matt Elston got things going with a crisp single, stealing himself to third base and eventually scoring on a passed ball.
After a Reed Kienle walk and Brent Newton base hit, the Mustangs, who are beginning to establish a reputation as terrors out on the base paths, created another run with a double steal, Kienle this time crossing home plate. Newton scored on a Gabe Bonilla sacrifice fly and Vegas single home the fourth and final run of the inning.
“Eric is in another planet right now,” Ramirez said. “What ever world he’s on, I want him to stay there.”
Vegas has had at least two hits in each game so far, including seven hits in his last nine at-bats.
The Mustangs sent nine batters to the dish in the bottom of the third inning, increasing their lead to 10-0 in the process.
Neal Dinsmore picked up his second hit of the afternoon and scored, Kienle walked and scored, and Chris pushed a triple to the left field wall to drive in a run and he later scored to round out the Mustangs’ score sheet.
The Mustangs have won their last three contests by a 36-8 margin but will be put to the test by Palma at home on Friday.
“We are going to be measured with this one. They are no joke,” Ramirez said. “I expect us to jump early. I really expect us to be hungry. They believe and they want to stay on top.”
