Anchorpoint Christian’s baseball team proved it’s not how you
start but how you finish.
Beating Calvary Chapel 11-1 Thursday afternoon in Gilroy, the
Warriors captured their second Coastal Athletic League title in
just the fourth year of the program’s history.
GILROY – Anchorpoint Christian’s baseball team proved it’s not how you start but how you finish.
Beating Calvary Chapel 11-1 Thursday afternoon in Gilroy, the Warriors captured their second Coastal Athletic League title in just the fourth year of the program’s history.
“Our whole goal, and we said it all along, is preseason is preseason,” said Anchorpoint assistant coach Johnny Ramirez. “Our goal was to win a league title.”
Going 3-10 in its non-league schedule, the Warriors rebounded by going 6-2 in the CAL. A three-game wining streak to end the season allowed the club to claim the title outright rather than sharing it with Anzar.
Junior pitcher Josh Ignagni received the game ball Thursday after tossing a two-hitter.
“He was kind of shocked getting the game ball,” Ramirez said. “We were going to go to ‘Tap’ (Ryan Tapia) in the third, but why pull [Ignagni] out when he’s doing good?”
The Warriors’ offense was better than good, as the mercy rule was enforced after Anchorpoint scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to go ahead by 10 runs, stopping the game.
Travis Thompson recorded a base-hit for an RBI in the first inning, Josh Morozick plated Jacob Brendle on a sacrifice fly in the second, and Christian McCrimon walked, stole second and third base, and then came home on a hit by Kenneth Urbanski in the third.
The fourth inning was the pivotal frame, as the Warriors added six runs. Included in the six runs was Ricky Sink doubling and stealing third before coming home on a hit by Brendle. Joe Apolinar followed by ripping an RBI single to score Brendle before stealing second and third. Ignagni then helped his own cause by hitting an RBI triple to plate Apolinar.
Apolinar singled in the fifth before stealing second and third to score on a wild pitch. Freshman Marcus Harrell walked, stole second and third and then crossed home plate on a double by McCrimon to end the game.
“It was a fun afternoon, it was Senior Day,” Ramirez said. “It was nice for the seniors to leave as league champs.”
According to Ramirez, the season featured a number of gaudy statistics set by the team and several individuals. The Warriors kept constant pressure on opposing catchers by stealing 175 bases on 180 attempts, good for first in the Central Coast Section.
Thompson ended the season with a .692 batting average, McCrimon successfully stole 43-of-44 bases and Tapia finished the league portion of the schedule with a 0.83 ERA and 56 strikeouts to just eight walks and one hit batter.
Below are more individual statistics for the season:
Name Steals-Attempts (Class standing)
Travis Thompson 24-24 (Sr.)
Kenneth Urbanski 22-25 (Jr.)
Marcus Harrell 18-18 (Fr.)
Jacob Brendle 15-15 (So.)
Joe Apolinar 12-12 (Sr.)
Name Batting Avg. (Class standing)
Travis Thompson .792 (Sr)
Josh Brendle .643 (Sr.)
Ken Urbanski .500 (Jr.)
Jacob Brendle .478 (So.)
Ricky Sink .444 (Jr.)
Christian McCrimon .366 (Sr.)
Josh Marozick .364 (Jr.)
Ryan Tapia .340 (Sr.)
