It is one of the truisms of baseball that if you allow the
opposing team an extra out, it will come back to hurt you. That’s
the lesson San Benito High coach Derek Barnes has been trying to
teach his baseball team, which has had a tendency so far this
season to struggle through a bad inning.
It is one of the truisms of baseball that if you allow the opposing team an extra out, it will come back to hurt you. That’s the lesson San Benito High coach Derek Barnes has been trying to teach his baseball team, which has had a tendency so far this season to struggle through a bad inning.
On Wednesday, the Haybalers (4-4 overall, 0-1 in league) had that lesson pounded into them by host Live Oak in a 7-3 loss in both teams’ Tri-County Athletic League opener.
In a tight game featuring last season’s TCAL co-champs, Live Oak broke open a deadlocked game by capitalizing on Hollister miscues in the decisive fourth inning to score a pair of runs that turned out to be the difference.
“It’s the same old thing for us – we have one inning where defensively we fall apart,” Barnes said. “We can’t give teams extra opportunities. Early on, we’re finding out that if we give teams extra chances it’s very difficult to dig ourselves out of the hole.”
With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth, Live Oak (3-3 overall, 1-0 in league) put a pair of runners on – one on an infield single that ricocheted off starting pitcher Justin Patton’s glove and another on a dropped pop-up to the catcher.
Acorn junior third baseman Doug Porras followed with a two-run double to give Live Oak a 5-3 lead it would not relinquish.
In fact, Hollister mistakes contributed to all but one of the Acorn runs.
With the Balers leading 1-0 on senior right fielder Brett Fulgoni’s RBI flyout to right that scored junior catcher Seth Hudson, Patton was rolling through the Live Oak lineup when he ran into trouble in the third inning.
After giving up a single, Patton got the next two Acorn batters, then lost the strike zone. He walked two batters, then hit Live Oak senior shortstop Dave Newton with a pitch to force in a run and tie the game at 1-1.
Live Oak’s senior centerfielder Daniel Salinas followed with a two-run bloop single to left-center to give the Acorns a 3-1 lead.
“My starting pitcher threw alright, it was just that one inning where he gave up the three-spot,” Barnes said. “But we got those two bad breaks (in the fourth inning) and that was it.”
Hollister battled back in the top of the fourth on Fulgoni’s two-out, two-run double that scored sophomore shortstop Karson Klauer and Patton to knot the score at 3-3.
But the Balers let in the winning runs in the bottom of the inning, then saw Live Oak add a pair of insurance runs in the sixth. Acorn senior first baseman Steve Conner nailed a fastball from Baler sophomore reliever Breyon Canez 375 feet to left for a home run, then Live Oak added another run on a two-base error and an RBI single by Newton.
“Timely hitting was obviously very key for us,” Live Oak coach Mark Cummins said. “And, it was nice to get those last two runs and open it up a little.”
Live Oak senior pitcher Dylan Regan picked up the victory, while Hollister’s Patton absorbed the loss. Acorn sophomore Kyle Mosbrucker tossed three innings of shutout ball for the save.
Hollister returns home on Friday for the second game in the crucial home-and-home series with rival Live Oak. If the Acorns, who will have ace Newton on the mound, win that game, they would win the three-game season series and hold the tiebreaker.
Barnes said his team has its work cut out.
“Hopefully, we can bounce back on Friday in our home park,” he said. “But we’ll struggle if we don’t play on the defensive side of the ball.”
Cummins agreed that the Acorns have the advantage.
“We wanted to put pressure Hollister,” he said. “Friday is a pivotal game for us but it’s a must-win for them.”
JV Note: San Benito defeated Live Oak 7-6 Wednesday to improve to 7-0.
Kyle Fergusen picked up the win, going six innings with seven strikeouts. Brenden Flahrety picked up the save. Fergusen gave up a leadoff homerun but settled down to strikeout the next three batters.
San Benito scored one run in the fourth inning then scored six in the sixth inning.
For the Balers, Kris Bittner went 1 for 3 with an RBI double and Cris Etheridge went 1 for 4 with a triple. Doug Conte and Matt Palafox went 1 for 3 with two RBIs.
