Cypress Takes a Choke Hold on First in Conference
Tamba struck out 8 Thursday. |
April 6, 2006
Final Stats
Cypress, Calif. - This would be the last regular season match up between Cypress and rivals Santa Ana. They had split the series so far this season but the Chargers would run away with it Thursday beating Santa Ana 7-2 for a 4 game lead in the Orange Empire Conference. Freshman right-hander Josh Tamba earned the win to improve his record to 6-2 after pitching 5.2 innings and striking out 8 giving up just one earned run.
Cypress could not get anything going in the first as sophomore shortstop Taylor Green reached first on an error and in an aggressive play tried to reach second but was picked off. The Chargers were eliminated in order in the first. Tamba found himself in trouble in the second with a man on second and just one out. Tamba struck out the last two batters to strand the runner and keep the Dons scoreless.
The Chargers picked up the offense in the second as freshman first baseman Brandon Laird led off with a single. Sophomore outfielder Blaine Wilson had a single of his own and advanced to second on a Dons error to put a man on second and third. Sophomore outfielder and leading hitter Mike Vass singled next for 2 RBIs scoring Wilson and Laird. Vass stole second to get into scoring position. Sophomore catcher Matt Wallach was next with a double to right to score Vass and then reached third on a throwing error. The hitting continued as sophomore third baseman Joel Weeks hit a single to left to score Wallach. Cypress ended the second inning up 4-0.
The top of the fifth looked like trouble for the Chargers with two men on and just one out. Tamba got himself out of the jam again by striking out the last two to keep Santa Ana scoreless. The bottom of the third held another run for Cypress as Laird hit a solo homerun to left, his fourth homer of the year to go into the fourth up 5-0.
Both the Dons and the Chargers went down in order in the fourth before the Dons picked up their first run in the fifth. Sophomore second baseman Garret Green led off the fifth with a single to center and advanced the second on a wild pitch. Taylor Green walked for two men on before both runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Sophomore designated hitter Matt Miller drove in the next Cypress run with a single to center to score Garrett Green and move Taylor Green to third. Wilson belted a sacrifice fly to right for Taylor Green to score. Cypress ended the fifth with 2 more runs for a bit 7-1 lead.
The Dons picked up one in the seventh to decrease the Charger lead to 5. The Chargers led off with a hit in the fifth, sixth, and seventh but could not generate a run. Sophomore reliever Wes Etheridge could earn the save if he could finish off the ninth inning and keep the Dons from catching up. Etheridge would not let them come close allowing just one hit in the inning and earned his 7th save of the season.
Cypress now has a four game lead in conference with six more conference games to go. Cypress will take a break from conference games and head on a road trip facing Canyons first on Tuesday. Canyons is 15-14-1 this season. This is the second time the season these two teams will meet as Cypress beat them on February 16th 5-3.
