By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — The San Benito Greyhounds used timely hitting and capitalized on errors to defeat the Los Fresnos Falcons 13-7 on Thursday.
Both teams committed a handful of errors throughout the contest, but San Benito’s bats proved to be the difference late in the game. San Benito scored seven runs during the final two innings and used four pitchers to keep Los Fresnos’ offense off-balance and pick up the key District 32-6A win.
“It’s always good when you get a bunch of guys playing a full seven-inning ballgame, especially against a very good program, well-coached program,” San Benito coach Jimmy Young said. “It’s like we told the guys, ‘Let’s try to finish Spring Break on a good note.’ We try to win every inning, that’s the goal and what we preach here. Forget about the things that happened, the man above will give you an opportunity to try and redeem yourself.”
The Greyhounds scored three runs in the top of the first behind a two-out rally aided by a walk and three consecutive Falcons errors. Los Fresnos starting pitcher Sidney Moore settled down during the second inning and worked quickly on the mound. The tempo kept him a step ahead of the hitters, and Moore recorded a three-up, three-down frame.
The Falcons took a 4-3 lead after two innings of play. In the first, second baseman Jose Cervantes hit a two-run single to right-center field and San Benito walked in a run. Center fielder Germain Castillo knocked a single to right field for an RBI to put Los Fresnos on top in the second.
San Benito was held scoreless in the third, and then the Greyhounds put another 3-spot on the board during the fourth. Rowen Garcia, Gabriel Sandoval and Andre Mercado recorded two-out hits, and another Los Fresnos error helped the rally to put San Benito on top 6-4.
The Greyhounds’ pitching staff kept Los Fresnos off the board for three innings. The Falcons scored two runs in the sixth, both coming in due to errors. Los Fresnos first baseman Juan Garcia touched all four bases after making contact on what looked like a groundout to third. The throw to first was too tall, and then an attempt to get Garcia out at second resulted in the ball rolling deep into the infield. Los Fresnos cut its deficit to 8-6 heading to the seventh.
Greyhounds starting pitcher Nicholas Gonzales went 2 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and striking out three. Bryan Lopez, Nathan Garcia and Michael Banda contributed in relief. Banda closed out the game, tossing two innings and allowing just one hit.
“The fielding might not have been there, but I think the pitching really came through. … They did their jobs. It’s like I tell the guys every day, next man up,” Young said. “We always talk about certain key ingredients that will hopefully help solidify a win at the end of the ballgame, and I think the biggest thing was pitching and hitting. Just getting hits in counts that might’ve been in (Los Fresnos’) favor, and that’s a testament to (our batters) battling at the plate.”
Moore was pulled after working a fast 1-2-3 fifth inning. Josh Munoz moved over from shortstop to the mound in the sixth and Matt Padilla, the starting third baseman, worked the seventh for Los Fresnos.
Sandoval roped a two-run single to left field in the top of the sixth before the Falcons closed the inning with a smooth 4-6-3 double play. San Benito’s bats were hot to open the seventh inning and pad the lead. Catcher Ian Vasquez scored two on a single to right field, and then shortstop Mauricio Padilla sent one over the center fielder’s head for a two-run triple to make it 13-6 in favor of the Greyhounds.
Los Fresnos got its leadoff man on base in the seventh thanks to an error, but he was quickly eliminated on a fielder’s choice. Munoz drove in a run on a two-out RBI double to center, but a fly ball to right squashed any comeback hopes.
“They outplayed us tonight. They were a better team tonight than we were, plain and simple,” Los Fresnos coach Rene Morales said. “I told them to keep playing and see what happens, that’s all we can do. We struggled a little bit on the mound, and we just got to clean up our defense and hit the ball. We still have 11 more (district) games, so we have to regroup and take it one game at a time.”