Baracudas -vs- Gauchos
Sunday, August 23, 2009 @ 7:00pm / Epicenter Stadium, Rancho Cucamonga
Mahon’s RBI Double is the Difference in Summer Championship
By Scot Sweet / PCBL Staff Writer
This was the nightcap of our championship triple-header at the Epicenter in Rancho Cucamonga. This home of the minor league Quakes is the perfect setting for a day of championship baseball. With that being said, let’s go straight to the action …
The Gauchos waste no time getting on the board in this contest. They lead off with Mike Mendoza who hits the second pitch of the game over the wall for a solo homer. The Gauchos settle for the single run in the inning; taking the early 1-0 lead.
The Barracudas go down in order in the bottom of the 1st; sending up the Gauchos to try to add to their early lead. They start things off in the top of the 2nd inning with Danny Casey who doubles to left. Casey moves over to 3rd on a ground out by Keith Bowman and he scores on a ground out by Jesse Hirdler. The Gauchos settle for 1 run in the inning; and now lead the ‘Cudas by a score of 2-0 through an inning and a half of play.
The Barracudas lead off the bottom of the 2nd inning with Adam Geery who grounds out to 2nd. He is followed by Yoankis Torino who doubles. The next batter is Jhavik Mahon, who singles home Torino. The ‘Cudas settle for 1 run in the inning; now trailing 2-1 through 2 complete.
The Barracudas would come up in the bottom half of the 5th inning; still trailing by a score of 2-1. Jhavik Mahon would ground out to short for the 1st out of the inning. The next batter was Justin Keeny. He hits a shot deep to left center field for a solo shot; tying the game at 2 apiece. The ‘Cudas would settle for the single run in the inning; but bring this game even as they advance into the championship innings of this contest.
With the Gauchos still failing to score since the 2nd inning; the ‘Cudas come up in the bottom of the 7th inning with the game still locked at 2-2. Adam Geery leads off with a single, and steals 2nd moments later. The next batter would strike out; sending up Jhavik Mahon who got the first ‘Cuda RBI of the contest. He promply doubles in the gap; scoring Geery from 2nd. The ‘Cudas settle for the single run; but it is a big one, as they take a 3-2 lead going into the top of the 8th inning.
The Gauchos come up in the top of the 9th inning; still trailing 3-2. The first batter goes down swinging; sending up Steve Kracow who singles to keep the inning, and the championship; alive for the Gauchos. Tom Rochin is the next batter; and he singles to right to put the tying run at 2nd base. With 2 on and 1 out, the next batter strikes out; giving the Gauchos just 1 more chance to bring the tying run home from second. However, that would not be the case, as the next batter would fly out to center for the final out of the contest.
Congratulations to both teams for providing such an excellent Championship contest; and to the 2009 Major League Division Champion Barracudas for hanging on for the impressive victory in this most competitive contest!
Game Time: 7:05pm - 9:25pm (2 hrs, 20 min)
Inning Breakdown:
Gauchos 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 1
Barracudas 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 - 3 8 1
Barracudas’ Offensive Stars:
Jvavik Mahon 2 for 3; double, single, 2 RBI’s (Offensive MVP)
Justin Keeny 1 for 3; solo homer, 1 RBI, 1 run
Gauchos’ Offensive Stars:
Mike Mendoza 2 for 4; solo homer, triple, 1 RBI, 1 run
Steve Kracow 3 for 4; 3 singles
Pitching stats:
WP Seth Schornick (‘Cudas) 8 IP; Allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk & 5 K’s (Defensive MVP)
LP Jesse Hirdler (Gauchos) 7 IP; Allowed 3 runs on 7 hits, 1 walk & 2 K’s
Save Yoankis Torino (‘Cudas) 1 IP; Allowed 0 runs on 2 hits, 0 walks & 2 K’s
Danny Casey (Gauchos) 1 IP; Allowed 0 runs on 0 hits, 1 walk & 1 K
Umpires: (1st Base) Dax Villalta
(2nd Base) Robert James
(3rd Base) Pat Smith
(Plate) Jeff Sill
