Two Homeruns and a Four Run Lead Not Enough to Beat the Gauchos
Evola got his first career homerun Saturday. |
April 22, 2006
Final Stats
Mission Viejo, Calif. - It looked like business as usual for the Chargers who held a 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth before imploding and giving up 5 runs. The Gauchos scored two in the sixth and a run in each of the next three innings to overtake the Charger 6-5. Cypress falls to 15-3 in conference holding on to a four game lead with six games remaining. Saddleback gained ground and is in a second place tie with Santa Ana and Riverside. The Chargers got two homeruns on the day including the first career homer by sophomore outfielder Mike Evola with a two run shot in the sixth.
Cypress stung early as lead-off batter Garrett Young reached on error. Sophomore shortstop Taylor Green moved Young to third on his single and freshman Brandon Laird got an RBI ground out to score Young and the first run of the game. Saddleback answered with a run in the second off of two hits and a sacrifice bunt. The Chargers got another run in the fourth as sophomore outfielder Mike Vass reached first on a fielder’s choice. Freshman designated hitter Ben Ornelas moved Vass over on a single and sophomore third baseman Joel Weeks made it the second single in a row for an RBI as Vass scored.
Cypress’s bats heated up a bit in the sixth as Vass led off with a solo homerun, a team leading 7th this season. A few batters later, freshman second baseman Eddie Agredano walked, and with two outs and one on, Evola got the second homerun of the inning giving the Chargers a 5-1 lead. From there the Charger bats went cold and Saddleback’s caught fire. Cypress could only muster 2 more hits after Evola’s homerun and the Chargers gave up 3 runs in the sixth, a run in the seventh, and a run in the eighth so Saddleback could tie the game. In the bottom of the ninth, Cypress had retired two outs and were one away from extra innings when they gave up a single for the Gaucho’s sixth and winning run. Sophomore Wes Etheridge absorbed the loss making it the first of the season for him to bring his record to 4-1.
Cypress has an immediate chance for revenge as they host the Gauchos Tuesday. This is a crucial game for Cypress’s hunt for a championship crown as they can either maintain and possibly stretch their lead over the pack tied at second, or fall to a 3 game lead leaving themselves vulnerable to Santa Ana, Riverside, or Saddleback. Cypress will host Saddleback Tuesday at 2:30 pm.
