(Mesa, AZ) The Park University Gilbert Baseball team (12-24, 9-10) was In dire need of win to keep them in the hunt for a postseason berth. Behind solid relief pitching and timely hitting, the Buccaneers came back from trailing by five runs beat No. 15 Benedictine Mesa 8-7.
Benedictine Mesa (35-9, 16-2 Cal Pac) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first off of Park Gilbert starter Joseph Chavira. It could have been more, but senior centerfield Chris Amador was able to throw out a BENU runner attempting to score on a fly out. The double play was the first of many important turning points in the Park win.
Zachary Swanson came on in relief of Chavira in the first and kept the Redhawks off balance through three allowing only two runs in 2 1/3 innings. Kyle Poapst came on in the fourth and had perhaps his best outing of the season throwing three innings and allowing only one run as he picked up the win.
Down 6-1 in the fifth, the Bucs put five runs on the board against the Redhawks No. 1 starter Kameron Haviland who entered the game with an 8-1 record. With one out catcher Alex Elizondo getting the start for the injured Austin Chouinard singled to right field. This was followed by a single by Logan Livingston to right to move courtesy runner Brendan Blakeman to third. Chris Amador waled to load the bases, then Aaron Stinnett also walked to bring home the Bucs second run.
Then here was the next turning point in the game. Diego Bejarano tapped the ball right back to Haviland. Haviland had two choices. He could have come to plate for the force and tried to start a double play or he could have gone to second to attempt to turn two that way. But Haviland just took the out at first for the second out of the inning which also allowed the third run to score. Instead of an inning ending double play, the Bucs still had life and Joaquin Martinez made the Redhawks pay for that mistake. The left handed batter took an outside fastball and launched over the fence in left field for a three run home run to tie the game at six.
The Buccaneers would take the lead in the very next inning with two outs. Elizondo, who started the rally in the fifth, got it started in the sixth with a single which ricocheted off the BENU reliver Colin Bonine. Livingston then came through again with a rocket to the right center gap to score Blakeman who was running for Elizondo to give the Bucs their first lead. Livingston then advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a balk by Bonine who took the loss and is 0-1.
The balk for the two-run lead turned out to be a big insurance run as the game played out. Poapst held the Redhawks scoreless in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, Diego Bustillos had a scoreless eighth which set the stage for Diego Jordan in the ninth. Jordan allowed a leadoff single to Dylan Bangs, who then stole second. He advanced to third on a the first out of the inning, a fly out to Amador in right center. Bangs would score on a ground out to short and then the game would end on a pop out to Livingston appropriately, who made a sprinting over the should catch to end the game.
The win keeps the Bucs in the hunt for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Cal Pac Tournament in May. They are currently in a tie with Simpson at 9-10. The Buccaneers own the tiebreaker with Simpson having won the season series 2-1.
These two teams will close out the series with a double header tomorrow starting at 11 a.m. at Legacy Sports Park in Mesa, Ariz. Bucs ace Shaun Atamanchuk is probable to start one of the games along with Matthew Armendariz.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Preston English
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