Bunt defense letdown lets “floodgates open” in season-opening defeat
By Brian Walther, reporting intern
RENO – Spanish Springs dropped its season opener, 8-0, to San Ramon Valley (Danville, Calif.) on Thursday night at Reno.
Trevor French started on the mound, but struggled to find a rhythm early on. In the bottom of the third, French giving up a double and then his defense was unable to execute bunt defense.
Another double pushed across the first two runs of the game and a single later in the inning grew the deficit to 4-0.
“We didn’t execute early and we let the floodgates open with a bunt and we didn’t make an out, and the base runners advanced,” Spanish Springs first-year coach Matt Ortiz said. “You’re not going to be successful when the pressure is on you and there’s no pressure on the other team.”
With the Cougars down 8-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Colton Forman came on to pitch. He struck out all three batter he faced.
However, Spanish Springs failed to put any runs on the board with their final at-bat. Senior catcher Josh Prizina, a Nevada commit, threw out four base runners in the loss.
The Cougars were out-hit 11-5.
“You’re not going to win many games when you get out-hit 11-5,” Ortiz said. “They had a good pitcher and we just have to come back tomorrow. It’s a tournament and baseball is what it is. You’ve got to come out tomorrow.”
Spanish Springs continues the Mike Bearman Memorial Tournament with two on Friday, starting against Lowry at Wooster (9 a.m.) followed by a contest against North Valleys (noon).
Reed handles Central Catholic
The Levi Matherly era at Reed officially started on Thursday afternoon with a 6-2 home win over Central Catholic (Modesto, Calif.) in the Mike Bearman Memorial Tournament.
Jake White started on the bump and picked up the win, allowing two runs (one earned) on hour hits in 4.1 innings. He fanned seven and walked four.
Dalton Wells (2.1 innings, two hits, no runs) and Kameron Soubiea (one inning, two strikeouts) preserved the shutout out of the bullpen.
The Raiders did all their damage in two innings. They scored three times in the second, and with a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the six, three more times to give Soubiea some insurance runs to work with in the seventh.
Jon Pinto went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run as Reed outhit Central Catholic, 11-6. The offense was needed as the defense committed five errors.
Reed continues the Mike Bearman Memorial Tournament on Friday, at home, against Damonte Ranch (noon) and Truckee (5 p.m.).
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