Baseball 2008 Weekly Recap #2

March 15, 2008


"You learn a little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat."   Christy Mathewson, Hall of Fame Pitcher


On Tuesday the Cougars faced Valley Christian at Caldecott on another early spring game and hopes were high.  Team play and the pitching were crisp, led by Alex Bentz's crafty five inning stint.  In the first inning, Benzo retired Valley Christian on five pitches, including two back to back flies to Ari..  However, Valley Christian pushed solo runs across the plate in the second, third and fifth, but the Cougar's rallies came up short.  Cole, Matt, and Gabe all had base hits, and Rourke had a clutch pinch hit with a taut shot to left field. CPS had its opportunities but line drives were hit at the solid Valley Christian defense.  As Lefty Gomez said, "I'd rather than be lucky than good," and the baseball Gods aren't shining yet on the Cougars.   Showing excellent command and keeping the Cougars close, Kristian closed  the game in the sixth and seventh inning by retiring all six batters he faced. The defense was solid all afternoon.  At shortstop Matt raced up the middle for a hard smash, twirled around, and fired out the runner at first. As a defensive placement in the sixth inning, on the first pitch Doug was greeted by a line smash to third which he caught, juggled, and held on.  Loosh made a running catch deep in left late in the game, and Gabe gunned down a runner at second.  Inspite of the boys' efforts,  Valley Christian prevailed 3-0.

The Thursday game against Marin Academy was played under the lights at Albert Field in San Rafael. This was a game for the ages, a twelve inning marathon. Duane needs to consult the archives to determine if this was the longest game in CPS baseball history. The Cougars continue to demonstrate their mettle and character as they battled all night long.  MA scored in the first, and  CPS scored three in the top of the third. Marin responded with two more runs in the bottom of the third, and both teams scored solo runs late in the game with the score tied 5/5  at the end of seven.   MA and CPS battled for  twelve innings and nearly four hours, only to lose 7-6.    PG pitched six solid innings, striking out nine batters, Cole made his debut with three scoreless innings, and Ari pitched well in relief.  Cole and Matt both had four hits, Corey, Zane, and Gabe contributed two hits, and Gabe led the team with 2 RBI's.  The defense was sparked by Kristian short hopping at grounder at third, looking like a young Brooks Robinson. Matt robbed a hit by backhanding a ball deep in the hole at short and firing to  a stretched out Zane at first, and Gabe gunned down another runner at second and caught  all twelve innings.

 Next week CPS play two perennial powerhouses. On Tuesday they play at 3:30 at Caldecott against Redwood Christian, and then  on Friday

CPS travels to Head Royce for a 3:30 game.

 Bruce Feingold