A two-run sixth inning and a stop puts Gilroy past Palma,
7-6
Gilroy – The Gilroy baseball team showed its potential twice against San Benito this season. And the Mustangs showed some of it again in their home contest with Palma Tuesday.
“I harp on the guys a lot about reaching their potential and they’re still far from it,” said Gilroy baseball head coach Clint Wheeler. “If we want to go deep in CCS, we’re going to have to figure it out.”
But what the Mustangs did at home Tuesday against the Chieftains was enough. Gilroy (14-10, 10-6 TCAL) came from behind in the sixth inning and scored two runs to propel itself to a 7-6 win over the league’s second-place team. For Palma (17-6, 12-4 TCAL), the loss permanently dropped the Chieftains below first-place San Benito (22-4, 15-2 TCAL), which will clinch the title outright no matter what happens when the two teams meet today.
Gilroy’s meeting today with Salinas, which is just behind the Mustangs in the TCAL standings with a 9-7 record, will determine third place.
The Mustangs, who held a 5-3 lead after the fifth inning before the Chieftains rallied back, were behind 5-6 going into the bottom of the sixth. Gilroy senior Drew Andersen, who would relieve Jeremy Teschera (2 strikeouts) on the mound in the seventh, led off the inning with a single. That brought junior second baseman Matt Hemeon to the plate. After fouling off a bunt attempt that put two strikes against him, Hemeon cracked a solid line drive triple to left-center, driving home Andersen and tying the score at 6-6.
“It was an off-speed curve,” Hemeon said after the game. “I just saw it the whole way and took care of business, blasted it.”
Following Hemeon’s lead, Mustang sophomore Danny Contreras ripped a base hit through a hole at short to bring Hemeon home for the go-ahead run.
In the bottom of the seventh, Gilroy had to face the strongest part of Palma’s batting order, which included sluggers Jordan Casas and Gabe Arcoleo.
“Arcoleo is a powerful hitter so we tried to keep (the ball) away from him and mix it up with off-speeds,” said Gilroy senior catcher Chris Hernandez, who worked with Andersen to get out of the inning. Hernandez also ripped a 2-run single in the fifth inning to score Kevin Grove and Josh Sterling and give Gilroy its first lead of the game, 5-3.
Andersen got Arcoleo to pop out for the first out of the final inning. With two outs, the Chieftains jammed the bases, but Billy Bruno’s grounder to short hit baserunner Jacob Flores going from second to third for the game-ending out.
The Mustang comeback against the perennially solid Chieftains was a welcome result after the team pulled out what Wheeler deemed an unnecessarily close win Monday at North Salinas.
Said Hemeon, “(Monday), I don’t think we were ready from the get-go.”
The Mustangs started off slow again Tuesday, allowing Palma to go ahead 3-0 in the top of the fifth inning. Gilroy, however, answered in the bottom of that inning with five runs. With one out, the Mustangs loaded the bases with Andersen (single), Hemeon (single) and Dustin Robinson (hit by pitch). Palma pitcher Brian Reader hit Grove to bring home Gilroy’s first run. The Mustangs scored its four other runs of the inning thanks to Michael Stevens (sac fly RBI), Sterling (RBI double) and Hernandez (2 RBI single).
Gilroy pitcher Jacob Dexter will start against Salinas today. Even though Salinas is ineligible for the CCS playoffs, a Gilroy win over the solid Cowboys would give the Mustangs a greater chance of hosting a first-round playoff game. Gilroy finishes out the regular season Friday at home against Sobrato.
“These last two games, if we win, we should have a home field game,” Hemeon said. “We’re going to go out and give it our all.”
