Charlie Gutierez’s three-run blast in the top of the seventh
seals the victory for Outlaws; Diablos will try to bounce back
today after losing starting shortstop
The Outlaws weren’t hearing any of it.
The popular opinion going into Tuesday’s opening game of the NABA Championships was that the Diablos and their star-studded roster were going to prove to be too much for the Outlaws to handle.
Guess again.
The Outlaws stuck with the Diablos early on in Tuesday’s contest, fighting their way to a 2-2 tie after three innings of play before pulling away in the later innings for a 9-5 win and a 1-0 series advantage.
“It was a good game today,” said Outlaws coach Alex Garcia. “We were hitting the ball good and doing the little things like stealing bases. We didn’t commit many errors either. It was a well-played game. We’re just glad we came out on top.”
The game saw a scary moment in the fourth as Diablos shortstop Nick Ramos, who had been playing solid defense all game, collided with center fielder Paul Brock as he attempted to chase down a fly ball. Ramos was taken off the field with what is believed to be a knee injury.
Ramos’ absence opened things up a little for the Outlaws, who had been matching the Diablos run for run up until that point.
Things stayed tied at 3-3 until the seventh inning. With both Alex Garcia and Anthony Sotelo on base, Charlie Gutierez cranked a shot over the fence for a three-run homer to put the Outlaws up 6-3.
“We’re going to bounce back tomorrow,” said Diablos coach Mike Montoya after Tuesday’s loss. “We’ve got to even the series and we all know that.”
While Gutierez’s three-run shot proved to be the game’s biggest at-bat, the game was packed with offensive highlights.
In the top of the first, Sotelo brought in the Outlaws’ first run by drilling one to the fence in center, scoring coach Garcia all the way from first.
In the bottom of the second, Brock roped one into right center as the Diablos’ lead-off man. Starting pitcher Justin Patton then reached first after beating the throw from short with a nice display of speed. Matt Hudson was up next and he brought Brock in with an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1.
Coach Garcia ripped a shot to left to reach in the top of the third before taking second on a sacrifice play from Sotelo. Gutierez then put together his first scoring plate appearance, hitting one right through the infield to score Garcia from second.
Game Two starts tonight at 6pm at the Babe Ruth field at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Hollister. The pitching matchup will see Paul Brock take the mound for the Diablos against the Outlaws’ Luis Garcia.
