A lack of light is to blame for Gilroy baseball’s only tie of
the season.
GILROY – A lack of light is to blame for Gilroy baseball’s only tie of the season.
Traveling to take on the Salinas Cowboys Friday, the Mustangs found themselves in the unfamiliar spot of settling for a 3-3 draw after playing seven innings, the final frames coming in near darkness.
Extra innings could be played in a makeup later in the season if the tie affects the Central Coast Section playoff seeding for either team, Gilroy manager Clint Wheeler said.
“It’s not detrimental to the league title,” Wheeler said. “If it’s going to affect either of us for the playoffs we’re going to finish it.”
The Mustangs (16-10-1) are currently in third place in the Tri-County Athletic League standings and a half-game ahead of the Cowboys (20-5-1) at 10-4-1. San Benito (21-4-1) is in first in the TCAL at 13-1.
Gilroy had plenty of opportunities to take the season series with Salinas, but leaving 12 runners on base in Friday’s game moved the record between the two teams to 1-1-1 in three games.
Gilroy loaded the bases twice in the game with no outs, once in the third inning and again in the fourth, and only came away with a run in the third when Roberto Celestino scored on a wild pitch. Derek Engen recorded an RBI in the second inning on a fielder’s choice and Jordan Holler was plated on a walk in the fourth.
What made the tie tougher to swallow was the fact that Gilroy led 3-1 and allowed the tying run to be walked in during a two-run bottom of the fifth.
“We had some good individual performances, but it was not a great performance as a whole,” Wheeler said.
Holler had two hits and Celestino made a game-saving play in the sixth with two outs when he caught a line drive while patrolling third base.
“It seemed like he got 11-feet high (for the catch),” Wheeler said.
Taylor Chris, who was forced to leave the game early with a sore arm, Michael Hartman, Max Fishler and Angel Gamboa all pitched in the game for Gilroy.
With three games remaining in the regular season and league title looking out of reach, the Mustangs’ focus is now shifting to the CCS playoffs and trying to lock up as high a seed as possible.
“I think that’s what we’re playing for,” Wheeler said. “We’re playing for a home game.”
The Mustangs will be back in Gilroy Friday at 4 p.m. to face Palma (19-5 overall, 11-4 TCAL).
