Going into week 8 of regular league play, Straight Up Builders needed a win to clinch the League Championship title. Catalina Express was going to do their best to not let that happen.
To that end, Catalina Express got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning when Jose Octavo opened with a triple, and later scored on the sacrifice fly. With a runner on, Luis Lazzaro pounded a home run for two RBIs. Straight Up Builders scored two runs in the second inning off three base hits and an error.
In the bottom of the second Angelyna Rivera-Cantrell kept Catalina Express scoreless with her catch behind the plate for the third out. Straight Up Builders took that momentum into the third inning and scored three runs off four base hits. Catalina Express answered with a run, off the triple from Jose Octavo and the score from another sacrifice fly ball.
Defense ruled the next three innings. LeeAnn Little made a great catch behind the plate in the sixth inning to keep Catalina Express off the bases. In the top of the seventh inning Straight Up Builders added an insurance run off two base hits and an error. With their last at bat, Catalina Express couldn’t muster up any offense, and the game ended with the score Catalina Express 4, Straight Up Builders 6. Congratulations Straight Up Builders on your League Championship!
For Catalina Express Luis Lazzaro was three for three. Jose Octavo collected two hits. Leo Aguilar, Frankie Rojo and Margery Williams had one hit.
For Straight Up Builders Chuy Sillas, J.D. Laflin, Alvin Polk and Jesus Gutierrez contributed two hits. Alex Herrera, Brandon Franco, Taryn Minuto, Rachel Mc Cormick and Angelyna Rivera-Cantrell had one hit.
Game two was to break the tie between Coyote Joe’s and Bravos Landscaping. Coyote Joe’s was up first, and Robert Reyes opened the game with a triple, and scored on a sacrifice fly. Bravo’s Landscaping did the exact same thing in the bottom of the inning with Ryan Adkins opening with a triple and scoring on a sacrifice fly. A moment in HISTORY happened in the second at bat of the inning for Coyote Joe’s. With a runner on, Caitlin Lopez stepped up, and with a crack of the bat, cries of “GO, GO, GO,” accompanied the left fielder as he ran to the fence and watched the ball fly over. Congratulations Caitlin Lopez for being the first woman to hit a home run over the fence at Joe Machado Ballpark. She collected two RBIs.
Not to be outdone, Bravo’s Landscapings’ Sebastian Sanchez started it off with a solo home run. Tyler Engel followed with a triple and scored. In the third inning Coyote Joes caught fire. Six base hits and two three RBI home runs from Robert Reyes and Juan De La Cruz added up to eight runs.
Coyote Joes didn’t let up in the fourth inning. Five base hits, a walk, an error and doubles from Robert Reyes, Marco Gallegos and Hugh Bevins brought home ten runs. In the sixth inning Tyler Engel hit a double for Bravo’s Landscaping, but was left at second. Coyote Joe’s added two more runs in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the inning Joe Talsky hit a triple for Bravo’s Landscaping, but was left stranded at third. The game ended with the score Bravo’s Landscaping 3, Coyote Joe’s 23.
For Bravo’s Landscaping Sebastian Sanchez and Tyler Engel were two for two. Ryan Adkins, Joe Talsky and Briana Morones collected one hit.
For Coyote Joe’s Juan De La Cruz was four for four. Robert Reyes, Allan Vega and Aimee Casillas had three hits. Edmundo Vega, Hugh Bevins, Francisco Bravo and Caitlin Lopez contributed two hits. Marco Gallegos, Melissa Schafer and Leah Quarnstrom collected one hit.
Schedule for Nov. 9
6 p.m. 4th place vs. 1st place
7:45 p.m. 3rd place vs. 2nd place
Standings
Straight Up Builders 6-2
Coyote Joe’s 4-4
Bravo’s Landscaping 3-5
Catalina Express 3-5
