San Luis falls in dramatic, 13-inning marathon
Sidewinders tie game in 7th, 12th, leave 13 runners on base in 4-2 postseason loss
Every time it felt like the end was near for the Sidewinders, they were brought right back into the game — whether it was because their No. 3 hitter came through in a big spot, or something as unlikely as a game-tying balk.
Twice the No. 4 San Luis baseball team tied the game when it needed to, but the helium finally deflated in the 13th inning when No. 13 Boulder Creek’s Mason Millett hit a two-run triple in the Jaguars’ 4-2 win in the first round of the AIA 6A State Tournament at San Luis on Saturday.
“It is one of the best games I’ve ever been a part of,” San Luis coach Cesar Castillo said. “It’s unfortunate for these seniors to go that way. It’s not the outcome we wanted.”
Saturday’s contest saw the typical dominant performance out of senior right-hander Gabriel Ponce, who allowed one earned run and struck out 10 batters in seven innings.
Fast-forwarding to the bottom of the seventh inning — with the game still a 1-0 Boulder Creek lead since the second when Cutter Kitson hit an RBI single — the game took a sharp turn from an ordinary pitchers’ duel into an exercise in maintaining one’s heart rate.
San Luis catcher Hernan Yanez led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to left field, and Ponce followed suit with an infield single. David Mota grounded out to move the runners over, and Omar Campa was intentionally walked.
Senior right-hander Daniel Carrizosa for the Jaguars (9-12 AIA) had easily his best and longest outing of the season. Carrizosa entered Saturday having allowed 13 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings, and had not thrown more than five innings in a game in 2017. He would finish the contest with eight innings pitched and one run allowed Saturday against the Sidewinders (15-4 AIA).
With the bases loaded, Carrizosa got Danny Orozco to hit an infield pop-up, bringing leadoff hitter Ramon Miranda up. Miranda worked a full count, with each pitch building the anticipation of what could be the last at-bat of the game. After Carrizosa started his motion, he twitched toward home plate then moved his body toward third base for a pickoff attempt. The umpires called a balk and San Luis had tied the game. Miranda popped up and the game went to extras.
Carrizosa faced a basesloaded jam again in the eighth, but got Ponce to ground into a double play to end the inning.
Miranda — San Luis’ projected starter for Wedensday’s second-round game if it would have won Saturday — came on in relief and pitched four shutout innings through the 11th. But in the 12th, the Jaguars got to him, scoring for the first time in 10 frames. It was Kitson again who hit an RBI single to right field.
Again, San Luis respond-