Team San Diego drops both ends of double header
By Chris Davis
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (6-10-15) - In Tuesday's (June 9) Western Baseball Association double header action, Team San Diego just left too many chances on the bases as they lost to the Southern California Sklz at Grossmont College as they lost 9-3 and then 5-1 in six innings.
In game one of the twin bill, Team SD (5-6, 2-3 WBA) got on the board in the bottom of the first. TIM COLE (Univ. of Texas-Dallas) reached on a walk, a theme that would happen quite frequently, then proceeded to steal second base. SAM LAWRANCE (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)) brought him in with a single for a 1-0 lead.
Game one saw the two teams combined for 18 walks. Across the double header that total was pushed up to 26 walks. On the other side of the equation Team SD and the Sklz combined for the exact same total (26) for strikeouts.
"They were more aggressive at the plate than what we were," Team San Diego manager Vern Hasty said afterwards. "As a whole, while we did get a lot of walks, we just were not as aggressive at the plate as we needed to be."
The Sklz (2-0, 2-0 WBA) came right back and scored three in the second inning and put single tallies up in the third and fourth innings to give them a 5-1 lead in the middle of the fourth.
With one out, Team San Diego's BRIAN DOYLE (NE Oklahoma Community College) singled. He advanced to second on a passed ball. DANNY DONHUE (City College of San Francisco) then walked putting runners on first and second with two out. Cole then came up for the third time and knocked a single back up the middle to bring in Doyle to cut the lead to 5-2 and putting Donhue on second. VANCE RAY (NEOCC) walked loading the bases. ROB SIMSIMON (Pomona College) walked for the second consecutive plate appearance to push Donhue in and a 5-3 score. That was as close as Team SD would get, as the Sklz would score four unanswered runs and a 9-3 final.
Game two was pretty much along the same lines. With two outs in the bottom of the first MIKE GAPASIN doubled to right center over the heads of the shallow playing Sklz outfield. BRIAN FLEISCHLI (Concordia Univ.) singled to left field bringing in Gapasin. Fleischli ended up on second when the throw from the left fielder ended up near the Team SD dugout. TYLER HALL (San Francisco State Univ.) hit a ground ball to second, the second baseman kicked the ball around to allow him to reach safely. The inning however didn't advance as Fleischli tried to score from second on the error. He was subsequently thrown out at home.
The Sklz tied the score up at one in the top of the second. In the third SCS put two more on the board taking a 3-1 lead. Team SD starting pitcher CHEYNE GILES (Cal Lutheran Univ.) walked the first batter. Team San Diego manager Vern Hasty said afterwards, "Cheyne pulled a muscle in his forearm or cramped up. So we got him out of there as soon as we could."
The losses came one day after having to play so late that the fielder's for Team San Diego would have been better equipped for the conditions if they would have been wearing night vision goggles than sun glasses. On Monday (at San Diego Stars), the game was played so late that the field was completely pitch black, and were charged with seven errors. Team SD held a 9-6 lead going to the ninth inning. Most sane people knowing the dangers that baseballs can do to the human body would have said, "Perhaps we should have stopped after the seventh". However, the umpires and the Stars said, let us keep going. The Stars loaded the bases and then Jared Hunt, who was just returning to the Stars from playing professionally in the Pecos League in New Mexico, lifted a fly ball to center. "It was ridiculous, we had no business out there playing after the eighth inning. I don't even consider it a loss," manager Hasty said. "It was silly with a capital S."
Team San Diego will return to the field on Friday, June 12 when the Inland Valley Bucs come to Grossmont College for a SCCBL double header that begins at 2:00 p.m.
Team SD Splits twinbill with Palm Springs
By Chris Davis
© East County Sports.com
PALM SPRINGS (6-7-15) — Team San Diego got a milestone win on Saturday, June 6, when they defeated the Palm Springs POWER 6-4. They then dropped the nightcap 6-0 in a Southern California Collegiate Baseball League doubleheader.
Game one of the double dip saw the POWER (5-3, 1-1 SCCBL) jump up on top of Team SD (4-4, 2-3 SCCBL) early. At the end of two innings of play it was 3-0 Palm Springs.
The story during the early part of the game was POWER pitcher Tyler Wells. He was on fire striking out nine in only six innings of work. While he did allow a pair of earned runs. But the game was tied when he left 3-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, Palm Springs regained the lead on a single to left.
Team SD had some fight left in them as they tied it back up at four. Then took the lead on a single up the middle by MATTHEW LAWRENCE (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)) to give Team San Diego a 5-4 lead. On the throw in the POWER first baseman cut the throw and while attempting to get BRETT McMILLAN (Brunswich Community College (NC)). BRIAN STEVENSON (SD Christian) came in and closed the game out garnering the save.
In the first game, McMillian went 2-4 scoring three times. MIKE GAPASIN went 3-4 with an RBI, while TIM COLE (Univ. of Texas-Dallas) was 2 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI.
The win, was the first in the five year history of Team SD that they were able to get a W against the POWER in Palm Springs.
That luck would not be able to be compounded as the POWER shut Team SD out in game two 6-0.
Team SD was only able to get three hits in the nightcap, while committing four errors.
Team San Diego will be back in action on Monday (June 8) when they jump back into Western Woodbat Association action with a game against the Barona Stars at 4:00. That game will be held at Grossmont College's Noel Michelsen Field.
Team San Diego falls on a walk-off
By Chris Davis
© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (6-3-15) — The San Diego Force rallied late to tie and then walked off with a Chase Tucker home run to left field, which also took out his teammate’s windshield. With the win, the Force take a one game lead in the Southern California Collegiate Baseball League (SCCBL) just six days into the season.
Team San Diego (2-3, 1-2 SCCBL) fell behind in the bottom of the second when the Force (2-4, 2-1 SCCBL) pushed a run across.
However, Team SD then went on a building streak as they put together some fence posts with single tallies in the third through fifth innings.
Team San Diego got the rally started with two outs in the third. BRIAN FLEISCHLI (Concordia, Irvine) coaxed a walk from the Force’s Justin Garcia. He advanced to second on a wild pitch. BRETT McMILLAN (Brunswich Community College) drove him in with a single to tie the game at one.
One frame later, TYLER HALL (San Francisco State) led the inning off with a double to right center. JAKE TRYBULSKI (CSU San Marcos) laid down a bunt back to the pitcher that advanced Hall to third. JAKE OLIVER (Sacramento City) grounded out to third to bring in Hall and a 2-1 Team SD lead.
In the fifth, Team SD got things rolling with a single by MATT LAWRENCE (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RBI). TIM COLE (Univ. of Texas-Dallas) hit a jam shot to left field that got past the fielder and the centerfielder allowing Lawrence to score from first on the double error to extend the lead to 3-1.
The bottom of the fifth saw the Force score the tying run. Tim Leary started the inning off with a single. Justin De La Nunez singled to left to put runners on first and second with one out. The runners were moved up with a ground out to shortstop to get the second out. Mark Lindsay singled to right to bring in both runners. Team SD got out of the jam with a fly out to right for the final out.
The sixth saw Hall single to get things going. Trybulski followed that up with a single up the middle to put Hall on second. On a failed bunt, Hall was caught straying too far off second. Two pitches later, San Diego Force pitcher BRAD MORENO (Mount Miguel) picked off Trybulski to get the second out. The very next pitch saw Oliver walk to first. That was followed by a strikeout, which turned a promising inning into a scoreless inning.
Things were quiet in the seventh, but the eighth started out with a throwing error by Griffin BRADY GROESBECK for the Force allowed McMillian to advance to second. Hall then laid a bunt down and with the sun sinking in the sky. Moreno turned a sacrifice bunt into a runner at second and a run to take the 4-3 lead on the Force’s fifth error of the day. After a fielder’s choice to get Hall at third, the Force turn a double play to end the inning.
The Force came right back and saw Andrew Mallon got a bloop single to get on base. He was moved up to second on a sacrifice and was then pinch ran for. Anthony Shkreija came in on a double down the left field line by Brock Asher to tie the game back up at four.
Tucker took the first pitch and then launched a ball that just kept carrying to right centerfield and came to an abrupt end on Trey Hunt’s windshield.
The schedule has Team San Diego facing the San Diego Mavericks on Wednesday (June 3) at 4 p.m. at Aliant University as they jump back into Western Woodbat Association play.
Team San Diego splits opening weekend
By Chris Davis
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-31-15) — Team San Diego opened their 2015 Southern California Collegiate Baseball League (SCCBL) season with a double header split against the San Diego Force at Grossmont College on Saturday (May 30).
In game one, the Force put two up on the board early in the first inning. The bottom of the inning, Team SD got one back to cut the Force’s lead to 2-1.
The fourth inning saw Team SD tie the game up at 2.
The Force broke the home opener wide open with five runs including a three-run homer by Andrew Mallon in the fifth to take a 7-2 lead. The Force added another run in the sixth and four more in the seventh for a 12-2 win.
Game two saw the Force again jump up and score two in the first and two more in the top of the fifth.
Team SD fought back with four runs in the bottom of the inning to tie it up at 4.
In the seventh, Team SD put up another two runs to take a 6-4 lead, which they would hold on to for the win.
Earlier in the week, Team SD defeated the ATH Tigers giving them a 2-1 record overall and 1-1 in the SCCBL.
The same two teams will face off at Madison High on Tuesday (June 2) at 5 p.m.
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