A grand slam by freshman third baseman Justin Baker keyed a
five-run fifth inning and sophomore pitcher Brent Mardesich tossed
6 1/3 shutout innings of relief as the Gavilan College baseball
team rallied from a six-run deficit for a 15-8 victory over
visiting San Francisco City College on Tuesday.
A grand slam by freshman third baseman Justin Baker keyed a five-run fifth inning and sophomore pitcher Brent Mardesich tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings of relief as the Gavilan College baseball team rallied from a six-run deficit for a 15-8 victory over visiting San Francisco City College on Tuesday.
Despite falling behind 8-2 in the second inning, Gavilan coach Neal Andrade said his team stuck with its game plan.
And, it paid off.
“It was one of those games where the starter (Ben Glines) didn’t have his stuff and we found ourselves down early,” Andrade said. “But we chipped away and didn’t panic, and Brent was great.”
Mardesich relieved Glines with two outs in the second inning and shut the door until leaving in the eighth. “I tried to just hit my spots,” Mardesich said. “I had nothing to lose.”
Meanwhile, the Rams began slowly chipping away at the SFCC. After pulling within two runs going to the fifth inning, Gavilan made it 8-7 on Danny Reyes’ RBI single, then went ahead 11-8 on Baker’s bases-loaded jack with two outs in the frame.
The Rams added four more runs in the eighth to put the game away, and Rams reliever Scott Hayslip finished up in the ninth.
Gavilan improved to 2-1 in conference play, 5-5 overall.
The Rams were scheduled to play at Ohlone on Thursday. No results were available.
Gavilan softball
Led by ace Destinee Powers, who tossed a two-hit shutout, the Lady Rams softball team beat visiting Cabrillo 1-0 on Tuesday. Powers, who had a season-high nine strikeouts, battled out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fifth inning to hold off the Seahawks.
The victory lifted Gavilan to .500 in conference play at 4-4 (13-9 overall) and thrilled head coach Tim Kenworthy.
“We’re really pleased as punch,” Kenworthy said. “These gals are really playing well.”
Gavilan picked up its lone run in the bottom of the first inning. Lead-off batter Kristina Pena started the rally with a walk, then moved to second on a single by Katie Arao. After Kristine Miles struck out, Pena was thrown out on an attempted double steal, with Arao taking second. Catcher Justin McDonald singled to center, moving Arao to third, then Courtney Colianna gave Powers all the run support she would need with a single to center to plate Arao.
The Lady Rams were scheduled to play at San Jose City College on Thursday. No results were available.
