Tehachapi’s ‘Turp’ delivers commanding performance
Right-hander dominant on mound, swings big bat in win over North
Any time a pitcher gets as many hits as he allows it usually turns out to be a good day for him and his team.
That was certainly the case for Christopher Turpin and Tehachapi on Wednesday afternoon.
The standout right-hander smacked a single and a double while limiting North to just a pair of singles in the Warriors’ 16-1 Southeast Yosemite Mountain League victory over the host Stars.
The game was shortened to six innings at the request of North coach Ryan Branson.
Tehachapi (16-7, 9-0) clinched its second straight SYML title. The Warriors improved to 19-1 in league games in the two-year existence of the SYML.
Wednesday’s game was never in doubt. The plucky Stars were simply overmatched against a Tehachapi squad that beat the Stars 19-0 in five innings the first time they played this year.
“Even though the last game was lopsided they always compete and are well-coached, so we were still prepared for them and dialed in just like we would for any other opponent,” Tehachapi coach Guy Dees said. “We were expecting a dogfight and fortunately we hit the ball and ‘Turp’ pitched really, really well.”
This time around it was another blowout as Turpin turned in a dominating five-inning performance. The Tehachapi ace had 11 strikeouts, including nine through the first three innings. In the second inning he registered a rare four-strikeout inning after his third strikeout victim reached base, swinging at a pitch that bounced in the dirt on the way to the backstop. Three batters later, after issuing a walk and hitting a batter, Turpin got North No. 9 hitter Chayden Bennitt looking.
“I knew early on that I just had to throw the ball in the strike zone because they weren’t really touching it much,” Turpin said. “They couldn’t catch up, so I just knew that I had to throw strikes and I
was going to get out of the inning.”
Tehachapi, which is averaging more than 23 runs a game in SYML contests, had 13 hits against a quartet of North pitchers.
The Warriors were boosted by two walks, three hit batters and six errors by the Stars.
Tehachapi made the most of its plethora of baserunners by running the bases aggressively, resulting in seven steals and an increased run total.
“That’s our style,” Dees said. “We want to put the ball in play and attack the game at every opportunity. And today you could see that they executed.”
Following a two-run second inning that featured an RBI single by Turpin, Tehachapi busted the game open in the third with a five-run outburst. Four Warriors’ hits, including a Turpin double, intermingled with a hit batter and a North error on a pickoff throw at first, caused the damage.
Tehachapi added four more runs in the fourth inning to extend its lead to 11-0 before tacking on five more runs in the sixth.
“For us, growing pains,” North coach Ryan Branson said. “They’re the best team in our league for a reason. They’re hard outs. We only struck out one. They put the ball in play. Sometimes our fundamentals bite us. A couple of rough errors led to some long innings, but they’re a great ball club.”
Turpin was one of five Warriors with multiple hits. Colton Christy went 3 for 4 with a walk and two runs while Cyler Hoofard added two hits and four runs. Andrew Widders and Tylere Lombardi chipped in two hits apiece. Leadoff hitter Samuel Ciaccio reached based three times, twice getting hit by a pitch before doubling in a pair of runs in the sixth. Ciaccio and Turpin’s doubles were the Warriors’ only extra-base hits.
Both of North’s hits and its lone run came in the third inning. After the Stars’ Issac Baeza began the inning with an infield single, Turpin retired the next two batters and looked as if he might escape unscathed. But with Baeza on third following a stolen base and a Turpin balk, Case Dowdy lined a Turpin offering into center field for an RBI single.
That was all the offense the Stars (9-14, 2-4) could muster as Turpin and reliever Gabe Griffiths, who pitched a perfect sixth, combined to retire 10 of 12 batters to close the game.
“He (Turpin) has been electric all year,” Dees said. “He’s fun to watch. He’s an absolute bulldog on the mound. He loves to compete. He just goes out and gives everything he has.”
“Our goal right now is we have to figure out ways to get better,” Turpin said. “We have to work on stuff we’re going to see in the playoffs.”
Speaking of the playoffs …
Winners of six games in a row, according to Dees it looks likely that Tehachapi will get bumped up to Division III for the Central Section postseason.
“Division III is absolutely loaded,” Dees said. “We are not ready to compete with all of the teams that are in front of us. So, we’re just trying to improve every single day, every single game, every single pitch to get ready for that run.”