Generosity and Baseball Do Not Mix
Christmas is still 8 months away but the Calvary Lions gave an early gift to the Escondido Cougars by committing 5 errors and allowing 6 unearned runs losing 7-1 in the second game of the North County Tournament.
Going into the season it was clearly evident that defense was Calvary's biggest weakness and it came to light this game. A team can normally survive a game if they spread out one or two errors throughout the course of a game, but when multiple errors and defensive mental lapses are combined into one inning, a team cannot compete.
Calvary started the game on a positive note by scoring in the top of the first inning when Sam Sheehan doubled over the rightfieder's head and Russell Harmening singled him in giving Calvary a quick 1-0 lead.
The bottom of the first started in a promising manner when Escondido's leadoff hitter flew out to center, but by the end of the inning the tone of the game was set and Calvary dug themselves a hole too deep to climb out of.
The second batter hit a roller to short that was misplayed and he reached on the one out error. Slightly shaken by the miscue, starting pitcher Isaac Conover briefly lost composure and walked the next hitter on 5 pitches putting runners on 1st and 2nd. The Cougar cleanup hitter followed by lifting a high fly ball to right that was dropped by the outfielder to load the bases. Had Calvary made the two plays they would have been back in the dugout with a 1-0 leading looking to add more. But that was not the case.
Escondido is a good team and good teams will make you pay for your mistakes and that was exactly what happened. As after the first error, the following hitter walked, this time forcing in a run tying the game at 1-1. Payback came when the Cougars got their sole hit of the inning when Walker Josey lined a double into the rightfield corner scoring two more runs making it 3-1. They scored another when a wild pitch allowed the runner on third to score. He would have been easily out but the pitcher failed to cover home on the play. When the dust cleared Escondido plated 4 unearned runs.
Calvary threatened several times but Escondido managed to do what Calvary could not - play good defense. They turned two double plays, one with the bases loaded, to eliminate the Lion's run scoring attempts.
Escondido scored two more ugly runs in the bottom of the 3rd. The first hitter walked on 4 straight pitches prompting a pitching change. Conover was replaced by senior righthander Brock Bentley. Bentley got the next hitter to fly to right for the first out but let one get away to the next hitter and he hit him to put runners on 1st and 2nd. The following hitter grounded a ball in the hole to short and Russell Harmening made the only play he had by tossing the ball to third for an easy force out but the thirdbaseman failed to cover the bag. Rather than 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, the mental lapse loaded the bases with only one out. Bentley pitched out of the jam by getting the next hitter to hit a one-boucer to third who threw the lead runner out at the plate. In an effort to complete the double play, the catcher rushed his throw to first despite the fact the runner was less than half way down the first base line and threw low to first base. The ball was unable to be picked and glanced away far enough to allow the runner to score all the way from second on the throwing error.
Escondido scored their only non-gift run in the bottom of the sixth when they hit back-to-back doubles.
Bentley was very effective in relief throwing 4 innings and allowing only 1 earned run, walking 1 and striking out 3. He threw only 57 pitches.
Senior first baseman Sam Hebert, who has played a gold-glove level first base this season, bailed out his teammates by scooping several errant throws. He kept the game for getting even worse than it was.
Sheehan was the big hitter of the day going 3-3.
Calvary drops to 1-1 in the North County Tournament which will most likely eliminate them from contention. The loss puts their overall record at 5-3. Next they take on Mt. Carmel on Saturday at 10:30.
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