Broncos cap busy week with lopsided win
For most San Antonio students, spring break is their week off from school activities. But for Brandeis baseball, their workload has been taken up a notch.
The Broncos have played five games in seven days, including a 10-1 victory over Roosevelt in a District 28-6A matchup on Thursday morning at Northside Baseball Complex. The victory marks the end of three days of consecutive contests in which Brandeis outscored opponents 25-2.
The team showed its fatigue in the win, at least to coach Eric Jupe.
“(We were) a little sluggish at times,” Jupe said. “We didn’t come out and play as well as what we should be at this juncture of this season.”
Roosevelt (0-18, 0-5) got on the scoreboard first when a wild pitch from Broncos’s Christian Hallmark allowed Uriah Perez to trot home in the opening inning. Hallmark threw 27 pitches in the first inning and was later subbed for Lance Gorman midway through the fourth, who was later relieved by TJ Bryd in the seventh.
Brandeis (12-6, 6-0) responded in its first time at the plate, scoring five runs while going through the entire batting order. Shortstop Drew Saucedo hit an RBI triple to bring in Hallmark to tie the game. Three batters later, first baseman Matt Mcclenan hit an RBI double before the ensuing batter, right fielder Nate Segura, smacked an RBI double of his own to bring in Mcclenan. Segura crossed home plate for the team’s final run of the inning.
The Broncos also demonstrated their speed on their basepaths.
“We got some guys who do a good job on the bases when we hit guys on,” Jupe said. “We are confident that when those guys get on, we’re going to be able to take an extra 90 feet. We’ve done a real good job over the course of the season of when we get guys on (base), to take that extra 90 (feet) and move into scoring position and gives the opportunity to put a number on the board.”
In the bottom of the second inning, Hallmark stole his way to third base and scored on a hit by Mcclenan. Saucedo did the same in the fourth when Mcclenan hit another RBI double. Outfielder Talon Barela stole to second and third base in the fifth inning and capitalized by racing home after a wild pitch from Roosevelt. Hallmark scored the game’s final run in the sixth after he stole to third and was brought in by center fielder Ty Jeter.
“It’s been a grind the first top month of the season,” Jupe said. “We played a lot of ball games, and I know the kids playing three games in a row tends to worry on you a little bit. Early morning games, we don’t play extremely well when we come out, but we expect our kids to play a little bit better than what they did.
“It could be a combination of just tired bodies and just sluggish starts, but we’ll get it corrected by the time next week comes.”
Brandeis gets time to rest before they return to the diamond to face Warren at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday at Northside Field No. 2. Roosevelt faces Clark at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at BAC Baseball Field.