Yastrzemski has big night for the Giants
BALTIMORE — The two players who occupied Camden Yards’ left-field grass for a lengthy first inning Friday night took similar yet diverging paths.
Mike Yastrzemski, the Baltimore Orioles’ 14throunder in the 2013 draft, dreamed of playing in Baltimore’s gem of a ballpark, but he did so Friday for the opposing team. Dwight Smith Jr., meanwhile, wasn’t a part of the Orioles’ organization until two weeks before Yastrzemski was gone, a former firstround pick by the Toronto Blue Jays designated for assignment and traded.
The Orioles’ 9-6 victory over the San Francisco Giants saw Baltimore overcome its largest deficit of the year with plenty of firsts for both players, who carry with them a familial baseball lineage. Yas
SVC title, would be shown playoff exit door.
“We were very pumped to play,” Lathipanya-Kham said. “I knew that we really wanted this. We kept the positive energy up in the dugout and we picked each other up whenever one of us was down.”
This season, LathipanyaKham, the Hawks’ leadoff hitter, had a batting average of .589 that included 13 doubles. She also had 28 RBIs and scored 27 times. She only struck out twice this season. On the base paths, she stole 14 bases out of 15 attempts.
“There’s a lot of talent on the team,” Lathipanya-Kham said. “I grew up with most of the girls on the team. We had a real good chemistry with each other on the team.”
On Friday morning, Lathipanya-Kham and Liberty Ranch’s Class of 2019 had returned from Southern California. That is where they were attending Disneyland, the senior class trip.
Lathipanya-Kham will play for the Running Rebels Gold 18 and under travel team this summer. Then she will be attending Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, majoring in kinesiology. She also plans to go out for the college’s softball team.
Contact Mike Bush at mikeb@lodinews.com. Follow on Twitter: @MBushLodiSports.