Errors cause Mustangs to blow three-run lead in championship
Gilroy – Historically, the Gilroy baseball team doesn’t have a good reputation in Easter tournaments. Unfortunately, the Mustangs weren’t able to break that tradition Friday night in the championship game of the Lions’ Easter Tourney.
Under the lights of San Jose’s PAL Stadium, Gilroy gave away a three-run lead to Homestead to fall 6-5 and finish second.
A win would have brought the Mustangs their first championship in 20-odd years of playing in the tournament. Gilroy last reached the championship game in 1991.
“It takes defense to win games and we didn’t play very good defense tonight,” said Gilroy head coach Clint Wheeler, who checked the tournament trophy for Gilroy’s name before the game. “(The Lions’ Easter Tourney) goes back ’til 1955 and Gilroy was not on there one time.”
This week in the first two rounds of play, the Mustangs took easy wins from Terra Nova (11-6) and Monta Vista (9-1).
Against Homestead, Gilroy (8-8 overall) was up 5-4 after the third inning thanks to Drew Andersen’s two doubles for 3 RBIs and outfielder Josh Sterling’s two RBI singles. But home team Homestead tied the game in the fourth and scored two runs in the sixth – in part due to a Gilroy error – for the lead.
“Of their six runs, maybe two were earned,” Wheeler said.
Gilroy couldn’t get a rally going in the seventh.
“Down the stretch we were pretty quiet,” the coach said.
Starting pitcher Jacob Dexter went four-plus innings to take the loss. Andersen came in in relief.
Thursday, Gilroy enjoyed an unexpected home field advantage against Monta Vista. The game was moved from Cupertino to Gilroy at the last minute.
The sunshine and balmy weather had quite an affect on the Mustangs, especially at the plate. The Mustangs ripped 14 hits to beat the Matadors 9-1 in the second round game to advance to the championship.
“It was a hit barrage,” said Wheeler, whose squad put runs across in every inning but the fourth and fifth. “I think it was the sun. The warm weather came out, so we warmed up.”
The hottest of the Gilroy hitters was senior catcher Chris Hernandez, who blasted a three-run homer to go along with a single and a double. A number of other Mustangs also had two hits including senior Sterling, junior Michael Stevens, Andersen and JV call-up Charlie Duffy in his first varsity start. With some Gilroy players out for disciplinary reasons, Duffy started at first base in a shuffled lineup.
Senior southpaw Jeremy Teschera pitched the complete game for the win, allowing just four hits.
The Mustangs get a three-day break, with no games scheduled during next week’s spring break. The will be back in action at Sobrato at 4pm on April 25.
