Mariners make most of their scoring chances early to build 8-0 lead
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKEPORT >> The Moreau Catholic Mariners scored early and often while the Clear Lake Cardinals missed the chance to do the same Wednesday afternoon during a North Coast Section Division 4 first-round playoff game in Lakeport.
With Clear Lake down a critical piece in its starting lineup, though head coach Brian Horne wouldn’t use it as an excuse, the Mariners built an 8-0 lead and went on to end the Cardinals’ season with a 10-5 victory.
A team that has pounded the ball at the plate all season, the Cardinals (16-9-1) finished with 11 hits, but they didn’t come when they were needed most against the Mariners, who also end up with 11 hits, many of them perfectly timed. And that was the difference.
“I wish we were more aggressive with our at-bats early,” Horne said of missed scoring opportunities in the first two innings when the Cardinals stranded five runners. “We changed our approach. I don’t know why we did.”
Clear Lake began the game minus one of its top players, senior Sawyer Smith, who is unable to hit or pitch because of a sore back muscle. Smith sustained the injury late in the Cardinals’ league season and while Clear Lake rested him during the team’s tiebreaker win over Kelseyville last week, he was still unable to go and likely would have missed the postseason even had the Cardinals won Wednesday.
While the timing of the injury couldn’t have been much worse for the Cardinals, Horne said it wasn’t the reason his team lost to the Mariners.
“We’re not a one-man team,” Horne said. “We lost because we didn’t do the little things a baseball teams needs to do.”
Nate Elizarrey’s two-run single in the top of the first, the first two of his team-leading five RBIs in the game, staked the Mariners to a 2-0 lead. Clear Lake promptly loaded the bases on Johnny Gonzales III and Zane McAuley singles sandwiched around a walk to AJ Bruch, but Moreau Catholic starting pitcher Markus Christy wigged his way out of the jam by getting Ryken Villanueva and Grayson Murray to look at called third strikes.
The Mariners came right back with three more runs in the top of the second against Clear Lake starter Bruch, and it was Elizarrey who did the damage again, this time with a two-out double on an 0-2 pitch with the bases loaded. The drive into center field scored two runs to make it 4-0, and Elias Ybarra (3-for-4) followed with a bloop single into left field that scored two more.
Trailing 6-0 now, the Cardinals mounted a two-out rally in the bottom half but left runners at second and third as Christy struck out one of Clear Lake’s best players in those situations, Gonzales.
Moreau Catholic loaded the bases on three singles in the top of the third before Gary Elizarrey lifted a sacrifice fly into right field to score a run, the runner at second base also tagging up and moving to third. The Mariners literally stole another run moments later when the runner at first took off for second and stopped, prompting a rundown. Before he could be tagged out, the runner at third raced home.
Clear Lake got its leadoff runner again in the bottom half, this time on a Bruch single, but nothing came of it.
David Cruz replaced Bruch on the mound to start the fourth inning and his offspeed offerings were a mystery to the Mariners. He worked out of a two-out mini-jam and retired side in order in the fifth and sixth innings before allowing two runs in the seventh.
“He had them off-balance,” Horne said. “He was getting first-pitch strikes with that big looper he throws.”
Clear Lake’s offense meanwhile began to click a bit. The Cardinals got two-out RBI singles from Hayes and Gonzales III in the bottom of the fourth, and the Mariners were taking no chances, going to their bullpen for Nate Elizarrey, who retired Bruch on a grounder to shortstop with runners at second and third to end the inning.
“We had them on their heels a bit right then, but we didn’t take advantage of the chances we had right after that, which really could have put some pressure on them,” Horne said.
The Cardinals put two of their first three batters on base in the fifth courtesy of Elizarrey walks, but he retired Tino Cruz and Murray to end the inning. They missed an even better opportunity in the sixth when Hayes and Gonzales III reached on consecutive infield singles, but with the heart of their batting order up, Bruch bounced into a forceout at second base and McAuley, after working ahead in the count at 3-1, popped out to third for the final out.
The Cardinals didn’t go quietly in the seventh, not that Horne expected them to.
“That’s not in their character,” Horne said. “That’s just not who they are.”
Villanueva reached on an infield error, Ezekial Lopez single to left field and Tino Cruz singled into right field to load the bases. After a strikeout, David Cruz doubled home two runs to make it 10-4. Hayes followed with a well-struck ball into center field that scored Clear Lake’s final run. Gonzales III grounded out to end the game.
Nate Elizarrey worked the final 3 1/3 innings for the win because Murray didn’t go the four innings he needed for the victory. Bruch took the loss in the final start of his high school career.
Horne said he will return with a much younger roster next season.
“We’re gonna be young and I know everyone will count us out, but we have two very athletic classes (seventh- and eighth-graders) moving up. Those classes are solid, strong baseball kids.”
Horne said he’ll miss his seniors more than anyone can know, kids who have been playing together since long before they reached high school.
“The greatest kids,” Horne said. “I’m really going to miss them.”
