Y-D snapped its two-game losing skid by delivering timely hits and cutting down five Falmouth runners on the basepaths on its way to a 4-1 win on Saturday.
Trever Baumler (TCU), who was named the All-Star Game starting pitcher for the West Division prior to the game on Saturday, took the mound for the Commodores looking to maintain his perfect 0.00 ERA this summer. Baumler tossed a scoreless first inning with the help of third baseman Ryan Zuckerman (Pittsburgh), who made a diving catch and an outstanding barehanded play in the frame.
For Y-D, it was Chris Downs (Cal Poly) making his first start of the summer after recording three shutout innings in his past two appearances out of the bullpen. Downs quickly retired Falmouth 1-2-3 in his first inning of work, needing just seven pitches.
The first two Y-D hitters of the second inning reached base, with Armando Briseño (Long Beach State) reaching on an error and Yomar Carreras (Rutgers) lining a single into right field. With two outs, Jack Bell (TCU) got Y-D on the board by hitting a line drive into right field for an RBI single.
After a double by Bear Harrison (Texas A&M) in the bottom half of the inning, Zuckerman lined a base hit into right field; however, Brayden Dowd (USC) made a one-hop throw to cut down Harrison trying to score. In the next at-bat, Zuckerman attempted to advance to second base on a pitch in the dirt and was erased by a perfect throw from Garrett Wright (Tennessee) behind the plate.
The Commodores continued to apply pressure to Downs in the third inning when they strung together three consecutive hits to load the bases. Carl Schmidt (California) jumped on a first-pitch breaking ball and drove it deep enough into right field for a sacrifice fly to make it 1-1. Downs was able to limit the damage to only one run thanks to Wright picking off Ashton Wilson (Florida) at third base.
A couple of diving catches in the fourth inning by Wilson and Tristan Salinas (North Greenville) in the outfield kept the game tied. Tyler Pitzer (Mississippi State) entered for Y-D in the bottom of the fourth following Downs’ three strong innings. After the leadoff hitter reached against Pitzer, Wright threw out yet another runner when he caught Adrian Lopez (USC) trying to steal second base.
Y-D strung together a two-out rally against Baumler in the fifth inning, as A.J. Nessler (Pittsburgh) grounded a ball up the middle for his first Y-D hit to extend the inning for Jayce Tharnish (St. Bonaventure). Tharnish launched a curveball off the foul pole in left field for a two-run homer to give Y-D a 3-1 lead, handing Baumler his first earned runs allowed of the season.
“[With a] runner on, I’m not trying to do too much, just put the ball in play,” Tharnish said. “I saw the curveball early and just let it loose.”
The Commodores were on the verge of responding immediately when Salinas drove the second pitch of the bottom half of the inning into right field for a double. However, Pitzer buckled down by getting two strikeouts and a groundout to preserve Y-D’s 3-1 advantage.
Pitzer worked into trouble once again in the sixth inning, as Falmouth loaded the bases with one out on a hit-by-pitch and two singles. For the second straight inning, Pitzer wiggled out of a huge jam, striking out both Zuckerman and Salinas on sliders.
Bell led off the seventh inning with his second hit of the game, lining a double down the left field line to get into scoring position with no outs. After Bell moved over to third on a groundout, Tharnish tacked on an insurance run for Y-D with a run-scoring single to the shortstop.
“Just a two-strike swing and trying to put the ball in play,” Tharnish said. “I knew we had a speedy runner on third, so it all worked out.”
Wright added to his incredible day defensively in the bottom of the seventh when he blocked a pitch in the dirt and threw out Wilson trying to advance to second base. Pitzer was relieved by Ryder Brooks (UC Irvine) in the seventh after 3.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts, lowering his ERA to a miniscule 0.57 this summer.
Bo Rhudy (Tennessee) came out of the Y-D bullpen with a runner on first and no outs in the eighth inning to face Harrison. After an 11-pitch battle, Harrison hit a ground ball up the middle, and Carreras made a stellar play to start a massive 4-6-3 double play.
Rhudy slammed the door in the ninth inning by setting down Falmouth in just seven pitches, capping off the 4-1 victory for Y-D. With the win, Y-D moved to 13-8-2 on the season and remained one point behind Brewster for the lead in the East Division.
“Everyone just seemed to be enjoying themselves, and the win came with it,” Tharnish said. “I’m just hoping that we can continue this and continue to have fun when we play up here.”
Y-D will look to ride the momentum from this all-around impressive victory when it welcomes in Chatham at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
