Monache High takes loss to Bakersfield High in CIF Quarterfinals

A hot day baked the fans in the stands and the players on the field as both the Monache Marauders and the Bakersfield Drillers took to the diamond for the quarterfinals of the 2022 CIF Central Section Baseball Championships. The Marauders were up with an overall of 22-8 while the Drillers had a respectable 9-18.

After the intense play and seven innings, the Drillers would win against the Marauders 11-5. Gustavo Andrade would pitch for the Marauders and would end up striking out seven Drillers. Andrade, Zach Milhous, Jayson Castillo, Ty Baxter, and Andrew Cabanyog would each be brought over home plate earning the Marauders their runs. Both Milhous and Castillo would make home runs for the Marauders during the first half.

The first inning would go quickly with Andrade striking out two Drillers back to back before Milhous would catch a fly ball, outing the final Driller and turning the inning over to the Marauders. An equally powerful series of pitches would come from the Drillers pitcher as each of the Marauders would be outed, ending the first inning entirely with an even blank score.

Stepping back onto the pitcher’s mound, Andrade again would strike out the first Driller to face him. The second however got a good hit to progress to third. After another series of strikes Andrade’s pitch would be hit and the Drillers would score their first point against the Marauders. The final out for the Drillers would be a fast series of strikes from Andrade, opening the field to the Marauders offense once more.

Castillo would take no time when he faced the Drillers fast pitches. On his second pitch Castillo would hammer the ball out of the park for the first home run of the game and the first point for Monache. Cabanyog followed next and hit a fly ball to center field. However, the Drillers outfield missed the catch and Cabanyog would run all the way to second. Both Colton Isom and Alex Narvaiz would be outed by the fierce play from the Drillers. Ty Baxter stepped up to the batter’s box and after a fumble by the Drillers, Cabanyog would run home for the Marauders second point of the game.

Baxter had good progress and would land at first after he hit a sloping line out to right field. Richie Bailey took precise measurements for his bats as he was up to bat. Bailey ended up running Baxter in for a point while ending up outed himself for the end of the second inning and a score of three to one.

Another impressive series of pitches by Andrade flowed easily into the bottom of the third after three outed Drillers. Milhous had the first step to bat and would make the most of it with a hammering blow out of a hit sending the ball out of the field and Milhous around the bases. Following up their teammate was Andrade who made a solid grounder to left field and would be brought in by A.J. Cox for the Marauders final margin of 5-11.

“We were electric there in the first five innings” MHS Coach AJ Watts said “With Milhous and Castillo both earning home runs in the second and third it was not an issue for us. That’s not to say Bakersfield High didn’t give us a hard game that’s for certain. We had a few key plays in the sixth come and bite us but we didn’t stop playing as hard as we could. These kids gave it 110%, BHS is challenging this year and have been every year. They gave back just as hard as we pushed. We had a few plays that missed by inches, and it’s kind of interesting because we’ve been on the opposite side of similar games just this year. It’s been a rough few seasons for us, especially my seniors. With COVID stopping us in 2019, ‘20 was a busted half year, ‘21 also got rough for a few reasons. 2022 was supposed to be a ‘back to normal’ and the kids really tried their hardest. They were always out here and busy when we couldn’t play together, doing training and practice. I just want to give them all some extra thanks for playing so hard for us.”