Cardinals Bounce Back With a Wild Win vs. Cloverdale but Lose a Tight One to Vancouver Community in Day 2 of Baseball BC's 15U AAA Qualifier

Posted July 15, 2017


Cardinals Bounce Back With a Wild Win vs. Cloverdale but Lose a Tight One to Vancouver Community in Day 2 of Baseball BC's 15U AAA Qualifier

With a loss to Chilliwack in day 1 of this year's Baseball BC 15U AAA Qualifier (BC Minor Portion), the first game vs. Cloverdale (0-1) just became that much more important. It was a battle, both games were and in the end the West Coast Cardinals are now faced with a do-or-die against the Delta Tigers.

 

CARDINALS 12 Cloverdale 8

With both teams behind the 8-ball in this qualifier, everyone was hoping for a rematch of game 1 of regular season between these two teams, Domanski vs. Sugi on the mound. West Coast followed through with Sugi but Cloverdale opted to go with the tall righty in Brendan Patterson. Both pitchers were sharp early, it took Patterson 8 pitches to get through the 1st while Sugi walked the leadoff batter and could only watch as Sandes would go 1st to 3rd on a pass ball. Knowing runs were hard to come by for West Coast last game, Yam opted to cut the run off at the plate. With Cloverdale's best all-around player in Logan Domanski looming on deck, Palmer hit a line drive shot to CF where Turnbull would catch the baseball in stride and throw a strike to the plate to nab Sandes at the plate trying to tag up. Domanski would hit a 2-out single but arugably the league's best baserunner would take a seat not long after as Sugi would pick him off at first with a fine move to end the inning.

Nothing came about a leadoff single by Baybay in the 2nd while Sugi made quick work of Cloverdale's 4-5-6 batters by yet again picking off a Spur on base for the final out of the inning. Zeros after 2 complete.

If the first two innings were any indication of how this game was going to go, you would think we had a pitching duel on our hands well the 3rd inning was exactly the opposite. Back-to-back singles by Turnbull and Suzuki to leadoff the inning for West Coast both on 0-2 counts, both singles got past the Cloverdale outfielders and the latter of the two singles + error scored Turnbull for our first run of the game, a gift. Miles while attempting to lay down a bunt was hit by the pitch, bringing up leadoff hitter Hendriks who moved both runners into scoring position with a well-executed SAC bunt. The move paid off as Sugi would lace a double down the right field line scoring both runners with ease. The double by Sugi was followed up by back to back singles by New and Baybay, the latter of the two singles plated Sugi, both runners New and Baybay moved into scoring position thanks to a pass ball. Crozier then continued to add to the offensive explosion with a single to centre scoring both runners but wait! On the throw home to try and get Baybay scoring from 2 on the single, Crozier moved to 2nd then hustled over to 3rd as he noticed the ball got away from the catcher, Vulcano (Cloverdale's catcher) then tried to get the hustling Crozier at 3rd only to airmail his 3rd baseman bringing now a panting Crozier home on the little league inside the park homerun! After the top half of the 3rd, Patterson (7 earned runs in 3 innings) and Cloverdale were appalled at what just took place, Foerster (Cloverdale's head coach) was determined to get them back in this game, and quick. 7-0 Cards after 2 1/2 innings.

WIth runners at 1st and 2nd, 2 out and 1 run in Yam had to make the decision to pull Sugi at 48 pitches in order to be eligible for potential tie-breaker game(s) Sunday or let him run. Yam made the call to go to the 'pen, in what would be the first of 5 relievers to throw in this contest. Powell took to the hill in relief and battled with Palmer at the plate, in the end Palmer would reach on error extending the inning. With Domanski now up, Yam wasn't going to let Powell face Domanski and instead went to the 'pen and opted for the matchup lefty Suzuki against lefty Domanski. The move wouldn't pay off as Domanski would get on top of a hanging curveball depositing it into right field scoring 1 and cutting the deficit to 4. A wild pitch later put two runners into scoring position with the tying run now looming on deck. Vulcano would clutch up and hit a single scoring both Palmer and Domanski cutting the deficit to 2. Suzuki would finally escape the jam as the Cards could breathe a sigh of relief, all 5 of Cloverdale's runs gifted to them with 2 outs in the inning. We suddently had a close ballgame again at 7-5 Cards after 3.

The 4th definitely went smoother than the 3rd, New would hit a 2 out double scoring Miles from 2nd padding West Coast's lead to 3 going into the bottom of the 4th. During the bottom half, Patterson hit a hard double to the gap scoring Sawyer and making it now a narrow 1 run lead for West Coast. With Jung coming to the plate and Suzuki nearing 35 pitches, Yam opted to go to AA call-up Kaleb Adrain with the tying run standing on 2nd and 2 out. Foerster made a quick move to pinch hit LH hitter Donoghue for RH hitter Jung to face the hard throwing righty in Kaleb Adrain. Adrain would win his matchup as he would get Donoghue swinging on a 2-2 fastball to end the threat. 8-6 Cards after 4. 

We jump to the bottom of the 5th where Adrain after throwing getting leadoff hitter Sandes to pop up for the first out of the inning was nearing a combined total of 35 over the course of 2 games so Yam opted to go Symons to face the potent Cloverdale bats of Palmer and Domanski. Symons would throw more pitches in warmup than it would take him to close out the 5th as he would get Palmer and Domanski to both pop up doing a masterful job sitting down Cloverdale's 2-3 hitters. Still 8-6 Cards after 5. Symons would come back out for the 6th and get a quick two outs against the heart of the Spurs' lineup. Rowe would reach on a walk with 2 out and promptly steal 2nd and 3rd setting up Sawyer who would clutch up and hit a 2 out 2 strike single scoring Rowe. With the tying run now at 1st, Yam opted to go Miles to control the running game; however, a botched pickoff play and pass ball later had Sawyer (tying run) standing on 3rd with the count of 1-2 on Barrick. Miles would get Barrick swinging on a curve but could only watch as the ball got away from the Cardinal catcher and the throw a tad late to the bag at 1st, Sawyer scoring on the dropped third strike. 8-8 after 6. 

With Tanner Rowe still pitching in relief of Patterson and doing an effective job of buying his team time to comeback in this game, the Cardinals' bats finally got Rowe in the top of the 7th. New would get the party started with his 3rd hit of the game, two batters later Crozier would single himself putting two runners on and 1 out. Yuen would breakout depositing a single to right loading it with one out. With Turnbull now up and seeing himself in a different position in the batting order, the change looked to have worked as Turnbull would completely turn his game around from yesterday by playing flawless defence in the outfield taking away hits and nabbing runners at the plate; the aforementioned Turnbull would smack his 3rd hit of the game with the bases loaded plating the go-ahead run. Crozier would score from 3rd on a wild pich while Suzuki would bring home the 11th run for the Cards on a well-executed SAC. Turnbull would score West Coast's 12th and final run on a wild pitch capping off a monster day for Turnbull. Two singles by Cloverdale's 2-3 hitters became moot as Miles would get Vulcano to groundout to Hendriks at first for the final out and ending a wild, wild game. 12-8 Cards the final.

 

VanComm 7 CARDINALS 6

 

The Cards would send Crozier to the mound for the third time this season against the Mounties, looking to continue their dominance over them and put themselves in a good position heading into Saturday. Early on, it was shaping up to be a tight pitcher’s duel with Vancouver managing just one base-runner first time through their order, a bunt single in the top of the 3rd that did not score. Vancouver gave the start to their sole 15U Selects representative, Keegan Lott, who was been used sparingly to say the least throughout the season due to concerns about his throwing arm. This was the first time the Cards would face Lott on the mound, and they wasted no time in nabbing themselves a lead. Sugi hammered a one-out triple over the centre-fielder’s head and later scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 1st. Lott struck out three straight Cardinals in the 2nd, but the Cards would hit him hard in the 3rd and walk away without much to show for it. Line drives from Kang and Symons in the #8 and #9 holes were hit right at the shortstop and right-fielder for the first two outs. Hendriks cracked a two-out single and made his way to third before being stranded, as the Cards carried a narrow 1-0 lead into the 4th. Vancouver tied the game at 1 in the 4th thanks to a leadoff single and a double from Lott two batters later, helping his own cause, as the saying goes. The Cards would retake the lead in the bottom half, once again benefiting from a wild pitch. Baybay drew a one-out walk, moved up to third with a stolen base and a balk then scored all in the very next at-bat. Right behind Baybay, Crozier laced a single into centre field, only to be doubled off on an unfortunate line drive right at the first baseman hit by Yuen. 2-1 Cards after four complete.
 
Then in the 5th, the game took an unexpected turn. A four-pitch leadoff walk got the inning going for the Mounties, loading the bases with nobody out following back-to-back singles. With Pee-Wee-aged Hanning at the plate, the Cards’ coaching staff was late bringing the infield in to cut the run off at the plate, and Hanning took advantage by hitting a soft grounder to the right side on the first pitch, Yuen’s only play at first base. Now with one out and runners on second and third, the Cards brought the infield in with the #10 spot in the order due up. Vancouver pinch hit their only sub off the bench and looked like geniuses for doing so, as he got all of a high fastball and sent it to the right-centre gap for a 2-RBI double, putting them up by a pair and knocking Crozier out of the ballgame. Powell would attempt to get the Cards out of the inning, and his first pitch induced a jamshot floater to 3rd base that was dropped because of the harsh, evening sun affecting the left side of the defence. The next batter helped out Powell by fouling off a 3-0 pitch before popping up to the right fielder for the second out. However, during that at-bat, the Cards’ defence fell asleep and let the Mounties pull off a double steal without a throw, setting the table for Lott one more time. Powell would give way on the mound to Tri-City AA call-up Bohn after only two batters faced to exploit the lefty vs. lefty match-up. Bohn did his job by getting Lott to hit a groundball to shortstop, but the throw over to first was bounced and not able to be corralled, a costly two-run error that capped off Vancouver’s five-run inning. The Cards needed a spark from their offence to get themselves back in this game, now trailing 6-2.
 
The sun would continue to wreak havoc in the bottom of the 5th, as Bohn hit a medium pop-up with one out just behind shortstop that fell in for a double, taking second in anticipation of the tough play created by the sun. The Cards then rattled off three consecutive singles, the second of which came from Hendriks and drove in Bohn from third base, cutting the deficit to just 3 runs. With the bases loaded and still only one out, Suzuki came in with the goal of clearing the bases and tying this game back up at 6 - but the Mounties’ defence took that matter into their own hands. Lott’s pickoff attempt to first base got away from his first baseman, allowing Symons to score and Hendriks and Sugi to move up. As the first baseman recollected the baseball on the same play, he made a bizarre decision to make the long throw across the diamond to try and backdoor Hendriks at third, and instead airmailed the throw out of play on the third base side. Hendriks and Sugi both trotted home for free and just like that, we have a 6-6 ballgame. After Suzuki grounded out, Lott was forced to be removed from the game due to his high pitch count - credit the Cards for fouling off tough pitches and working some deep counts throughout the game. Hunter, previously the first baseman, retired Baybay for the final out of the long 5th with just one pitch, but the momentum seemed to be back on the Cards’ side.
 
Bohn remained in the game to attack a string of three lefties to begin the 6th, and all was going well when he struck out the first two with ease. However, another walk to Van Gorkum, the same player who was walked on four pitches to begin the 5th, this time with two out and nobody on base, came back to haunt the Cards. Hunter would step up to the plate and make amends for his mental breakdown in the 5th, driving in the go-ahead run against new pitcher Adrain with his second lined shot in as many at-bats. Despite falling behind once again, the Cards felt confident that they could rally to take back the lead now that they’d dipped into the Mounties bullpen, and they had a decent chance to put a few on the board in the bottom of the 6th. Crozier led off the inning with a single, then Yuen blooped one down the right field line that required a sprawling effort by the right fielder to keep Yuen off the bases. Then the jolly old sun got the better of the defensive team for a third time, as Turnbull’s pop-up to shallow centre hit off the heel of the centre-fielder’s glove and fell in, leaving runners at second and third with just one out. This time though, the bottom of the order could not come through, still down by a single run after six innings. Kang made his first relief appearance of the weekend coming in for the 7th, quickly pitching himself in and out of deep trouble. He loaded the bases on a single, walk and intentional walk, the Mounties’ big bats looming in the on-deck circle. Kang got the first out at the plate on a groundball to Baybay at third, then fell behind 3-0 on Lott before throwing seven consecutive strikes to pick up the final two outs and escape the inning without allowing any insurance runs. The Cards still favoured their chances heading into the bottom of the 7th with the top of their order due up. Hendriks got things going with a single past Lott at shortstop, but unfortunately that’s where the execution halted. Sugi flied out to the centre fielder, Hendriks was picked off on an early steal attempt and Fukuoka grounded out to third, as the Cards fell to 1-2 in the 15U AAA Qualifier, losing to the Mounties for the first time in six games, 7-6 was your final.


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