Four Lead Changes Swings in Cypress’s Favor
Hurst went four for four Thursday afternoon. |
February 28, 2008
Final Stats
Cypress, Calif. - The Chargers were coming off of a dismal defensive showing Tuesday and had a day to recover for the second round of the Orange Empire Conference Mini-Tournament. Cypress faced Golden West in round two and went back and forth with the Rustlers until eventually emerging with the 17-9 win. Freshman right fielder Jonathan Hurst led Cypress going four for four on the day with two RBI and two runs scored.
After a rough start Tuesday, Cypress did the opposite this time around with a strong starting the first. After holding GWC scoreless, sophomore center fielder Dennis Gerbasi led off with a walk and then motored to third off a single from sophomore shortstop Tyler Marmion. Gerbasi and Marmion showed some base running skills as Marmion took off for second and Gerbasi stole home for the first run of the game. Sophomore first baseman AJ Smith took advantage of a fielding error to reach first next. Hurst hit a long single to right center scoring Marmion for run number two. Sophomore third baseman Eddie Agredano topped it off with a sacrifice fly as Smith tagged up to score for the 3-0 lead.
The Rustlers quickly bounced back utilizing an RBI single and a two-run homerun to knot it up at three and then drove in another to take the lead 4-3. Cypress took back the advantage in the fourth. Hurst led off with a single up the middle and got all the way home on a long double to center by Agredano for the tie. Freshman catcher Parker Berberet laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Agredano home and sophomore designated hitter Jordan Lowe cashed in with a sacrifice fly as Agredano tagged up and scored to take back the lead 5-4.
The Chargers took the momentum into the fifth with back to back doubles by Marmion and sophomore left fielder Michael Nesbitt for a run. Nesbitt moved to third on a ground out and Hurst followed with an infield single for Nesbitt to score and widen the Charger lead to three.
The Rustlers pounced in the seventh scoring a run off an error and then hammering a three run homer to take back the lead 9-7. After GWC put up four runs, the Chargers decided to match with four of their own. Hurst started the rally with his fourth single of the day followed by singles by Agredano and a walk from Berberet. With the bases loaded, the Rustler catcher allowed a passed ball so Hurst could come home to score. Sophomore designated hitter Jordan Lowe then took a 2-1 pitch to left for a double and two more Charger runs. Freshman second baseman Garrett Leon returned the favor with a double scoring Lowe giving Cypress their three run lead back.
The Charger defense buckled down as freshman pitcher Hunter Hewitt retired the Rustlers in order in the eighth. Cypress then broke it open with a seven run eighth inning and batted around the order. Nesbitt and Smith started with back to back singles before freshman right fielder Tyler Brady walked to load the bases. Freshman third baseman Erik Hempe produced the third single in four at-bats for the first two runs of the inning. Berberet brought in two more with his single up the middle. Sophomore designated hitter Brandon Rohr produced yet another single to reach. Gerbasi was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for the second time in the inning and everyone moved over while Berberet scored thanks to another passed ball. It was as if Cypress could not avoid scoring as Marmion hit a fly ball for an out but Rohr tagged up to score for the sacrifice fly for the final run of the inning and the game.
Hewitt earned the win improving to 2-0. He pitched one-and-a-third innings allowing no hits and striking out one batter. The Charger pitching corps allowed 16 hits but was able to strand 13 Rustler runners.
Cypress improves to 13-4 and moves on to the final round of the OEC Mini-Tournament. Cypress will face Saddleback Saturday. The Gauchos are 10-6 coming off of a 14-12 win over Orange Coast today. The two will meet up for the first time this season Saturday at U.C. Riverside at 10:00 am.
