Eduardo Miranda
The Daily Independent
The Cerro Coso baseball team hosted Victor Valley on Saturday with the chance to sweep the Rams, having taken the series opener with a huge 24-6 home win and then earning an 8-6 comeback win on the road. The Coyotes looked primed to sweep the series and continue in the hunt for not only a playoff berth but a chance to improve their seeding in playoff.
The Coyotes used impressive base running with another strong defensive performance behind a great day on the mound from starter Johnathan Gonzalez to secure a 7-2 win and sweep the Rams.
"It keeps us in the hunt. It keeps us in position where it rests on us and we have to play good baseball in these singles. It will be fun for a couple of weeks," said head coach Justus Scott on getting the sweep before playing single games in conference.
With the win, the Coyotes improve to 19-14 overall and 12-6 in Inland Empire Athletic Conference play for second place, one game ahead of third-place Mt. San Jacinto. The Coyotes trail only College of the Desert going into the final six games of the regular season.
In the series clincher, the offense finished with 32 at-bats to score seven runs on 12 hits with six RBIs. They had two batters walk, while three batters struck out and left eight runners were stranded on base. The Coyote offense did not have that one big inning of scoring, with three runs in the bottom of the fifth as their peak output for the day, but used strong baserunning to put themselves in position to capitalize on the hits they did get.
The strong baserunning is what led to the Coyotes' first run of the game. Designated hitter Chase Scott went from second to home after a hit by Gabe Duchow and a throwing error against the visitors. From there, the Coyotes became aggressive on the bases to put themselves in position to not only score but apply pressure on the opposing pitcher and defense. The Coyotes coach spoke on his team's base running.
"It's a part of the game that goes unseen, but when you do it well it puts a little pressure on a team," Scott said. "Again, getting to second base is a huge thing; it puts yourself in scoring position. We were aggressive but we were smart as well."
David Encarnacion led the Coyotes with two RBIs despite going 0-for-4. Christian Wilkes went 2-for-4, Cayden Johnson 1-for-3, Andrew Bain 2-for-3, and Scott 2-for-3, each with one RBI.
The Coyotes scored two more in the third on a sacrifice fly by Johnson to score Cayden Trujillo. Encarnacion hit a sacrifice grounder to the opposing first baseman to score Wilkes.
After the Rams scored a run in the top of the fourth, the Coyotes responded with Encarnacion reaching first on a fielder's choice to score Trujillo, but Johnson was out at second with the bases loaded. Bain hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Wilkes and a double by Scott scored Encarnacion for a 6-1 lead.
Victor Valley scored a run in the top of the sixth, and the Coyotes responded with Wilkes getting a hit to score Trujillo for the final 7-2 margin.
The Coyotes held the Rams to only two runs behind starting pitcher Gonzalez and another strong defensive performance.
Gonzalez went seven innings, giving up a pair of earned runs on 10 hits. He faced 28 batters and finished with no walks and three strikeouts. Rafael Echeverria closed the game throwing two scoreless innings, giving up two hits. He faced eight batters for no walks and two strikeouts.
"He is one of our better strike throwers. He was very, very efficient today. Again, you play good defense behind him, pitcher on the mound is efficient, a half inning goes by quick," Scott said on Gonzalez's performance.
The defense committed three errors against Victor Valley. But they atoned for it with two double plays, with the first in the third inning with shortstop Deri Steiert-Couture grounding the ball and making the throw to Encarnacion at second, who then made the throw to Wilkes at first.
The defense completed a second double play in the fifth when Gonzalez reached the ball on a bunt attempt to get the runner out at first, and Wilkes then made the throw to catcher Duchow to get the runner trying to sneak home.
"You like to say that you can control it each game, and you can to a degree, but good defense keeps you in baseball games," Scott said on his team's defensive performance. "If you combo that up with some of the guys on the mound that aren't throwing great that day and you play poor defense, you're in trouble. Today we had both, and I think it was the first time in a long time that I can remember where we had zero walks."
Cerro Coso now turns its attention to the final six individual games against Inland Empire Athletic Conference opponents, beginning at Barstow on Tuesday and then Desert on Thursday before returning home Saturday to host San Bernardino Valley at 1 p.m. Scott spoke on going into the final games knowing their playoff and seeding hopes are in their hands.
"It is, and I think they know. I think very little has to be said. I think sometimes if I maybe mention it, puts a little too much pressure on it," he said. "It's something I'm always 50-50 on. They know, and we just have to, it's an old cliché, but Tuesday is the only game that matters, and Thursday is the only one that matters. But we have to get through Tuesday first."
Before the game began, Cerro Coso celebrated IWV Youth Baseball and Youth Softball appreciation day by having the baseball and softball players in attendance come out on the field with the players during introductions. The players were able to get a picture with head coach Justus Scott before the Coyotes faced the Rams.