A/C notches first victory with 12-6 win over Newman
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford/Colby co-op moved to 1-3 on the season after defeating Newman Catholic at home and falling in a pair of road contests over the past week.
Eleva- Strum, 20-3
The co-op was unable to take advantage of a hot start in a road game against Eleva-Strum on Monday evening, running into a buzzsaw fourth inning before falling 20-3 to the Cardinals.
Abby/Colby could not have asked for a better start to the game, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first frame, but quickly surrendered that edge when the home team answered with six runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Both teams were held scoreless over the next two innings, but the Cardinals struck with a monster 14-run frame in the bottom of the fourth.
Not much went right for Abby/Colby in the fourth. Sixteen of the first 17 batters reached safely as the Cardinals used a combination of patience at the plate and timely hitting. Four singles in the first six at-bats of the inning helped the home team’s offense get going, driving in four runs in the process. The co-op needed to employ the services of four different pitchers to get through the inning that saw the Cardinals draw nine walks and collect seven hits.
While the final score had the co-op in at a significant deficit, things looked like they might be trending in a different direction after Abby/Colby’s first at-bats. After Fernando Perez reached on an error, Payton Schreiber and Arturo Lopez combined for back-to-back singles to get the visitors on the board. Carson Folz was then hit by a pitch and Elector Lopez put the ball in play during his next at-bat, scoring two on another error by Eleva-Stram’s defense.
The 3-0 lead was short lived, however, as the Cardinals were able to take advantage of a few defensive miscues in the bottom half of the frame. After starter Arturo Lopez was able to get a strikeout to start the game, a walk issued to the next batter would come around to score on the first of three consecutive errors by the visitors. That, combined with a pair of singles and a double from Eleva-Strum, put the Cardinals ahead for good.
Arturo Lopez went two-thirds of an inning, surrendering six unearned runs on three hits and two walks. He also struck out one. Cutter Hamus came on in relief, and while he made it through the second and third unscathed, he ran into trouble in the fourth, giving up seven runs on five hits and four walks while striking out two. Irvin Aguilera and Adrian Capetillo both gave up three runs on one hit and two walks and Flector Lopez finished with one hit, two walks and one run surrendered in his two-thirds of an inning on the mound.
Schreiber and Aguilera both went 1-for-2 from the plate, with Aguilera notching Abby/Colby’s only extra base hit of the day. Arturo Lopez reached safely in both his plate appearances, collecting a hit and a walk while driving in a run and scoring once. Hector Lopez had two RBIs and Jaxston Malzahn recorded one hit in three at-bats. Schreiber, Arturo Lopez and Javier Rivera stole one base each.
Newman Catholic, 12-6
Payton Schreiber scored the go-ahead run and struck out 11 batters, Arturo Lopez had five RBIs and Abbotsford/ Colby was able to rally back from a potential collapse by scoring six runs in the sixth to notch their first win of the season, defeating the Newman Catholic Cardinals 12-6 at home last Friday.
After holding a significant advantage for most of the contest, a late push by the Cardinals completely changed the complexion of the game. A five-run inning for the visitors in the top of the fifth pulled them within one, erasing the comfortable lead the co-op had built for themselves, before tying things up in the sixth.
Abby/Colby responded with a monster inning of their own in the bottom half of the frame. Schreiber started things off with a double and was later able to come around to score on a passed ball by the catcher. Carson Folz and Hector Lopez both had RBI singles later in the inning and came around to score themselves as the co-op worked six walks in the sixth.
Cutter Hamus, who had slowed the Cardinals’ rally in the top of the sixth, struck out all three batters he faced in the top of the seventh to secure the win for the co-op.
Walks and strikeouts were abundant for both teams. Abby/Colby drew 17 walks over the course of the evening while striking out 10 times while Newman Catholic walked 11 times and struck out in 17 atbats. The abundance of walks led to a lopsided scoreboard; both teams combining for 18 total runs while collecting just seven hits between both lineups.
The co-op scored in each of the first four innings. After scoring one run in both the first and second innings, Arturo Lopez came through with a clutch single in the third inning, plating both Schreiber and Fernando Perez and doubling the co-op’s run total. Bases-loaded walks by Lopez and Owen Hanson scored two more runs in the fourth.
Schreiber plowed through the Cardinals lineup for the first four innings of his start, allowing no runs while mowing down 11 batters. He finished the day with two earned runs on one hit and five walks. Irvin Aguilera surrendered three runs on three walks, one of which was earned, and Adrian Capetillo gave up one run on two walks and a strikeout. Hamus’s final line was no runs on one hit and one walk while striking out four in two innings of work.
Schreiber also had a solid day at the
See A/C GRABS FIRST WIN/ Page 28
DOMINATING ON THE MOUND - Payton Schreiber unleashes a pitch in the second inning of the co-op’s win over Newman Catholic last Friday. The senior was nearly untouchable through four innings, striking out 11 batters and giving up no runs over that span. staffphoto/nathaniel underwood
CRUISING INTO SECOND - Fernando Perez advances on a hit after drawing a first inning walk. He would later score the co-op’s first run of the game one at-bat later. staff photo/nathaniel underwood A/C grabs first win
Continued from page 19 plate, going 2-for-2 with a double, two runs scored, two walks and an RBI. Arturo Lopez drew three walks while going l-for-2 with five RBIs, Folz was 1-for-l with three walks, two runs scored and one RBI, and Hector Lopez had one hit in two at-bats, drawing two walks and scoring two runs while batting in one run.
Abby/Colby was also aggressive on the basepaths, putting pressure on the Cardinals defense. They swiped 12 bases on Friday, with Folz and Arturo Lopez stealing four each, Hamus taking two and Hector Lopez and Javier Rivera both snagging one.
Merrill, 11-0
The Merrill Bluejays took control early and stayed ahead, holding Abby/Colby hitless through five innings and dealing the co-op an 11 -0 loss last Thursday.
For the second game in a row, Abby/Colby’s offense struggled to find its footing. Going up against the Bluejays pitchers Carter Kaminski and Cooper Wendorf, the visiting co-op lineup failed to generate much of a threat. Walks by Fernando Perez and Carson Folz and a hit-bypitch pass garnered by Arturo Lopez were Abby/Colby’s only baserunners as the pair of Merrill pitchers held the co-op in check, striking out seven batters in the five-inning contest.
Abby/Colby held the Bluejays to just one run in the first inning, but errors began to add up in the second and third innings. Merrill scored four runs in both frames, solidifying their hold over the contest. After adding another two runs in the bottom of the fourth and holding the co-op scoreless in the top of the fifth, the home team was able to end the game early by holding a double-digit lead past the fifth.
Arturo Lopez and Adrian Capetillo were on the mound for the visiting co-op on Thursday While Lopez surrendered nine runs in his two-and-a-third innings of work, only four of those runs were earned. He allowed six hits and four walks while striking out two. Adrian Capetillo pitched an inning-and-two-thirds, giving up two runs, one of which was earned, on one hit and two walks.
BRICK WALL - Jaxston Malzahn scoops a pitch out of the dirt to prevent a run from scoring against the Cardinals.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
SLIDING IN UNDER THE TAG - Arturo Lopez sneaks into third base on a close play during the co-op’s win over Newman Catholic. staffphoto/nathaniel underwood
