Game 3: SAGU 9 Central Christian 4 (W)
Waxahachie, Texas- February 7, 2016- Coming off a near no-hitter, the SAGU Lions looked to start the second day of double headers with momentum on their side against Central Christian (Ks). The Lions would hand the ball to captain Raul Castro (2-0). Castro would go five 2/3 inning pitched, four strike outs, two walks and four runs on the day.
The intensity between the two teams grew as each inning went on. Hard slides, line drive hits, and bang-bang plays kept the game close.
Junior outfielder Josh Terry would start the game off with a line drive base hit, followed by a string of hits that netted the Lions an early 2-0 lead. However, Central Christian battled their way back into the game with timely hitting and patience at the plate.
In the bottom of the 5 th inning, Castro would come up clutch with a towering homerun that lifted the Lions to a one run lead. Once again, not to be out done, junior third baseman Maverick Keffer would hit a monstrous homerun to dead center; nearly hitting the scoreboard.
Castro would hand the ball over to freshman Mark Martinez with bases loaded and two outs in the top of the sixth inning. Martinez would get Central Christian’s top batter to pop out to Keffer to end the inning.
To close out the game and seal the victory, coach Blackmon sent senior outfielder/closer Carson Conarty to the bump. With 12 pitches, Conarty fanned the side.
Inning-by-inning Score
|
CCC |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
SAGU |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
X |
Game 4: Central Christian 13 SAGU 10 (L)
Looking to close out the four game set with a series victory, the Lions sent freshman AJ Munoz to the mound. Munoz would struggle throughout his start only going 2 2/3 innings pitched, two strike outs, three walks, and nine earned runs.
Munoz would allow three runs in the first inning, but the offense would not let up as they answered with two runs of their own in the first, starting off with another line drive base hit for Terry.
Terry had several base hits that would prove to be the catalyst for the Lions offense. Behind Terry was freshman Jake Payonk who shot several balls into the right-centerfield gap for a double and a triple on the game. Keffer would add a triple to his hit list in the bottom of the seventh too.
The offense battled back several times trying to keep the team in the game, but poor pitching hindered any kind of comeback.
“6-2 is a good way to start a season,” said coach Sam Blackmon. “But we could have been 8-0. We have a good team, but now we need to compete to be a great team.”
Inning-by-inning Score
| CCC | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| SAGU | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
Top Players of the Weekend:
Raul Castro: 6/13, 8 RBI, 2 doubles, 1 HR—W 5.2ip, 4k, 2bb
Maverick Keffer: 7/14, 1 triple, 1 double, 1 HR
Jake Payonk: 10/13, 8 RBI
Brandon Ventura: W 6.2ip, 6k, 6bb, no hitter into 7 th inning
Carson Conarty: 1ip, 0bb, 3k
