The visiting Angels won a 20-14 slugfest over the Indians on
Saturday to stay alive in the loser’s bracket of the Bronco
Division of the Morgan Hill Pony Baseball playoffs.
The visiting Angels won a 20-14 slugfest over the Indians on Saturday to stay alive in the loser’s bracket of the Bronco Division of the Morgan Hill Pony Baseball playoffs.
The Angels got their offense going with four runs in the first inning. The Indians struck back with a pair of runs in the first and, after the Angels added another run in the second, the Indians trimmed the lead to 5-4 when Jason Smith crushed a two-run home run to deep right field.
The Angels’ offense kept rolling with five more runs in the third inning to bump the lead to 10-4 and held a 13-7 lead after four high-scoring innings.
Angels’ pitcher John Forestieri shut down the Indians over the next two innings. He set them down in order in the fifth and kept them scoreless in the sixth while the Angels scored seven runs over the two innings to boost their lead to 20-7.
Smith, the Indians’ pitcher, set the Angels down in order in the top of the seventh and then the Indians began to mount a comeback. Smith blasted his second home run of the game, this one a three-run shot, to help close the gap to 20-13.
The Indians added one more run before relief pitcher Logan Hensley struck out the next two batters and center fielder Clayton Howard made a running catch on a fly ball to end the inning and give the Angels the win.
The win moved the Angels into the next loser’s bracket and they will play today at 5:30pm against either the Rangers.
Mustang Division
Behind some solid pitching and an explosive offense, the Giants knocked off the Astros 11-5 Thursday in the Mustang Division playoffs.
Closer Billy Branon followed up solid efforts on the mound by Francis Tuttle and Allen Engle by striking out six of the final seven batters.
The Giants slugged out 10 hits during the game, including two each by Tuttle, Engle and Trenton Cisewski, who had two triples.
Giants right fielder Saul Lopez helped his team escape a bases loaded, one-out jam in the fourth inning when he hauled in a fly ball and then fired it tofirst to double off an Astros runner and end their threat.
The Astros were led offensively by Andrew Reisenaur and Jared Gunskey, who both smashed doubles.
PINTO DIVISION
The Athletics watched their nine run lead get trimmed to two before holding on for a 14-12 win in the Pinto Division playoffs.
The A’s had a 14-5 lead at the end of four innings, but a pair of walks and three hits in the fifth by the White Sox helped them trim their deficit. Bradley Higgins entered the game in relief and recorded a strike out to end the White Sox rally.
Every A’s player crossed the plate during the game. Higgins, Nick Giordano, Blake Porzio and Matt Lombardo helped lead the offense with two hits each, and Giordano and Sean Hoyle both had two runs scored.
Brandon Foster had two hits and scored three runs for the White Sox, and also pitched two innings. BJ Kendrick, Travis Moulden and Patrick Mueller each scored two runs for the White Sox.
