Conor Havstad could feel the window of opportunity starting to close.
The senior right fielder dug his spikes into the batter’s box with two men on and Sobrato trailing by four Friday against visiting Santa Teresa, one of three teams that Havstad and the Bulldogs have to overcome in their final six league games to keep playing baseball.
“At this point, you almost have to win every game possible if you hope to make the playoffs,” Havstad said. “We can’t get down. You have to keep fighting.”
Havstad kept that in mind as he overswung at a three-and-two offering from Saints ace Colby Taylor and sent the ball bouncing harmlessly toward Josh Stuve at shortstop, a sure double play.
But Havstad’s hustle forced a quick throw to first that ended up in right field, bringing home Jerry Jacob and Javier Jimenez. Three pitches later, Havstad scored the tying run on another overthrow – after the league leader in stolen bases swiped second and third.
“Conor had a huge game on offense, and he didn’t even get a hit,” Sobrato manager Brian Collom said.
Sobrato ended up losing 7-6, with the deciding run coming on an overthrow, no less, but Havstad’s 0-for-4 performance with three RBIs epitomized the kind of effort the Bulldogs will need during their stretch run, which begins Wednesday (4 p.m.) at Pioneer.
“I don’t think this loss slowed us at all; it just reminded us we need to go harder every inning,” said starting pitcher Nick Giordano, who pulled no punches on his six runs allowed on four hits in 2 2/3 innings. “If we do that, we know we can get hot.”
The Bulldogs (7-13, 5-9) were just that entering Friday. They had won four of their last six, including a promising run in the Salinas Easter Tournament, and had pulled to within a half game of the fourth and final automatic playoff spot in the Mount Hamilton Division. Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Santa Teresa helped, but it was nothing compared to what a sweep would have done. The Bulldogs are now two games out of fourth place.
“That’d been humongous,” Havstad said. “One win means everything this late in the season.”
With one game left against each of their division foes, the Bulldogs can make up ground quickly and perhaps catch some of the front-runners by surprise in round-robin play.
“I think it’s the opposite of a pressure situation for us because this team hasn’t been to the playoffs (since 2010),” Collom said. “I think, if anything, the pressure’s off us and on the other teams. We just want to go out and play ball, and our guys are learning how to fight.”
For all of their inconsistent fielding and base running miscues, the Bulldogs have answered with steady pitching and timely hits. Two days after Tanner Di Sibio delivered a three-hit shutout with 70-plus pitches, Zayne Patino came through with 4 1/3 innings of quality relief Friday, retiring 12 of his 15 batters. The sophomore struck out two and gave up one unearned run on two hits.
“Zayne did a stellar job,” Giordano said. “He picked me up, kind of picked the whole team up.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs were led by another sophomore in Alejandro Torres, who went 4 for 4 and drove in a run. Casey Conforti, ranked fourth in the division in batting average (.438) and slugging percentage (.594), added a double and an RBI single.
“Both of those guys are really stepping up for us,” Collom said.
Just as the four-rally revealed the Bulldogs’ potential and resolve, their struggles with the “little things” showed just how much they can improve
“Right now, we need to work on two-out hitting and cutting own on the walks,” Collom said. “If you take away stuff like that and that overthrow … that’s pretty much the difference in the A league between a winning team and a losing team.”
- In the Santa Teresa Division, the situation is no different for the Live Oak Acorns, who, despite winning seven of their last eight, still have plenty of work left to land a Central Coast Section playoff spot.
Live Oak (9-10, 6-8) is tied for third with five other teams and will likely need to place second and finish better than .500 in league and overall play.
The Acorns have been red hot behind a pair of underclassmen. John Forestieri, a junior, leads the division in batting average (.471), slugging percentage (.667) and on-base percentage (.606) and has driven in 11 runs. Sophomore Mitch Hickey is 4-2 this spring and has not lost since March 16. His 72 strikeouts are good for second in the division.
Live Oak was held hitless in a 1-0 loss to Piedmont Hills on March 4 and collapsed in the seventh inning of a 7-6 loss to Del Mar on April 18. But the Acorns answered with a 7-3 win over the Dons on Friday behind Kyle Quadros, who went 2 for 2 with a triple and three RBIs. Jakob Conlan fired a five-hitter with three strikeouts.
Live Oak can pull to within a game of Oak Grove on Wednesday when the teams meet at Sarich Field.
