MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
SANTA ROSA — After forcing a third and deciding game, the Santa Rosa Warriors found themselves in position to steal the series and eliminate the Santa Gertrudis Academy Lions for the second time in as many years.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, it wasn’t meant to be.
Down two runs with two outs, Santa Rosa’s Leo Lara came to the plate after teammate Devyn Saldivar was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Lara caught a good pitch, but smacked it right to the Academy shortstop, securing a 10-8 Lions win in the deciding game of their best-of three bi-district series in Santa Rosa on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams were able to hit the ball well Saturday, but errors and mental miscues spelled doom for the Warriors, who had trouble with the Lions’ small-ball approach.
“We had those mental errors, but we knew (Academy) was going to bunt and play a short game,” said Santa Rosa head coach Steve Mendoza. “We had a mental break down and some of the runs they scored were cheap runs, and if we eliminate the mental errors and get the out at first, it’s a different ball game.”
In Game 2, it was the Warriors who put up six runs in their first at-bat to set the tone with a 14-7 win.
However, the Lions stunned the Warriors with a big first inning of their own in Game 3.
After Warriors pitcher Manny Sanchez gave up three consecutive hits and an earned run, Academy’s Rigo Alanis crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Soon after that, Academy’s John Cantu scored on a bunt put down by Alvaro Saenz, putting the Warriors in a 3-0 hole.
However, a bad inning is nothing new to the Warriors’ defense this year.
“If we eliminate the one big inning that has haunted us all season long, we’d have a different outcome,” Mendoza explained. “We put the bat on the ball like in the first game and we scored eight runs, but we kind of took our foot off the gas.
“We spotted them three run and if we don’t, it’s a different story.”
Throughout the day, Academy picked up extra bases and put runners in scoring position thanks to Warrior miscues.
Aside from that, the Warriors stayed in the game with solid hitting.
Trailing 4-2 with the bases loaded and two outs, an RBI single from Santa Rosa’s Marky Sanchez scored Lara to make it 4-3.
The Warriors took the lead on a Jay Guerra 2 RBI single soon after, but they wouldn’t hold the lead long.
Academy scored three more runs over the next two innings and scored at least one run in all six at-bats in Game 3.
The Warriors went into the top of the seventh down 10-6 where Marky Sanchez once again brought home two runners to make it a 10-8 game.
Despite loading the bases in the inning, the Warriors’ hitting wasn’t timely as they couldn’t bring in any of the runners on base.
In Game 3, they left 10 runners stranded.
Sanchez took the loss on the mound for the Warriors in the third contest, giving up nine earned runs on 11 hits, while Academy’s John Cantu picked up the win, giving up eight runs on six hits.
“We played the cards we were dealt this year and we held our own,” Mendoza said. “Our lack of experience hurt us but overall, it was a hell of a season. I’m proud of these kids and our coaches.”