Baseball Win First Round of NCS Playoffs

The 2007 Cougars became the first team in school history to win an NCS playoff baseball game with a hard-fought 9-4 win over Ferndale on Tuesday, May 22.  In another indication of the misguided logic of the NCS seeding committee, Ferndale showed that they were way better than a 12 seed, with a solid performance in a losing effort.  The win pushes the Cougars’ record to 17-8.
 
The visiting Wildcats scored four runs in the top of the 1st, to let all in attendance know that this would be a tough game.  Starting pitcher Alex P.-G. settled down after this shaky start, allowing only three hits and no runs with eight strikeouts the rest of the way for a complete game victory.  His sixth win of the season tied the school record for most wins in a season, and his 11th start and 14th appearance added to his school records in these categories.
 
Alex was aided by a stellar defense, which committed no errors during the game.  Defensive highlights included a great grab by Ari K.-H. in right center in the top of the 6th to end the inning, and a spectacular long throw from the edge of the grass by Matt P. at short to nail a batter for the second out in the top of the 7th.
 
On offense, Gabe Feingold hit a 2 out double in the bottom of the 1st to score Matt and cut the deficit to 4-1.  CPS added another run in the bottom of the 3rd on a 2 out run-scoring hit by Bart L. to score Ari, which made the score 4-2 in favor of the visitors.  The Cougars tied the game in the bottom of the 5th on a 2 out double by Matt, which scored Nathan M. and Ari. 
 
The score was 4-4 going to the bottom of the 6th, at which point CPS batted around, scoring 5 runs in the process.  Jim K. reached first on a hustle play to lead off the inning, was balked to second, and scored the go-ahead run on a 2-strike base hit by Andres Ruiz, his third hit of the day.  Ari added a single which knocked in Gabe and Zane K.  Nathan scored on an error for Prep’s eighth run.  Ari scored the final run of the game on a base hit by Matt. This was Ari’s third run scored and Matt’s third RBI for the day.
 
With this win, CPS moves into the quarterfinal round.  The next game will be at 4 PM on Friday, May 25 against Stuart Hall.  The game will be played at Benedetti Diamond on the campus of USF.
 
The field is at the intersection of Masonic and Golden Gate in San Francisco.  There are at least three ways to get to Benedetti, based on Yahoo maps, Mapquest, and the CPS website.  All three routes involve going across the Bay Bridge, at which point differences of opinion arise.  The CPS website suggests the 9th Street exit towards Civic Center, left on Hayes (following the signs for Fell), left on Gough (after Van Ness), right on Fell, right on Masonic to Golden Gate.  The alternative route would be to take the Mission St/ 101 North exit , continue north on Octavia, left on Fell, and right on Masonic to Golden Gate.  Only the morbidly curious would consider a third approach, involving Divisadero and Fulton.  For those so inclined, the details for this third route are on Yahoo Maps.
 
Stuart Hall had a record which was very similar to Prep’s this year, finishing 16-9 with a semi-final loss to a class A opponent (Lick-Wilmerding) in the BCL West playoffs (much like Prep’s loss to Berean in the semi-finals of the BCL East playoffs).  Stuart Hall faced Tomales in the first round of the Robert Graves tournament in Santa Rosa and lost 11-8.  They went on to win their next two games and claim the consolation trophy, while CPS beat Tomales 17-14 in the second round on their way to the championship trophy.  Stuart Hall split their two league games with Urban, while CPS beat Urban in their only meeting by 12 runs.  Stuart Hall also beat Valley Christian by 2 runs in the Robert Graves tourney, while the Cougars beat Valley Christian by more than 10 runs in each of their two meetings.  Yet, with logic that only Krusty the Clown could decipher, the Cougars are seeded lower than Stuart Hall. 
 
Despite these potential disparities, from first hand observation in Santa Rosa, Stuart Hall is a very strong squad and worthy of a top 4 seed (as is CPS).  This should be an excellent match, particularly given Stuart Hall’s bye in the first round.  CPS lost to Stuart Hall at Skyline College in the 2005 NCS playoffs, so hopefully the change of venue will lead to a change in results as well.
 
Thanks to all the fans who showed their support at Tuesday’s game at Caldecott. Thanks especially to the volunteers who helped with the ticket window and the snack bar.  We raised over $50 for the athletics program and also raised money for NCS, which helps defray travel costs for all teams (including, hopefully, Prep in future games).
 
A special thanks to Kevin Williams for a stellar performance as the PA announcer, and to the baseball alums who showed up in force to cheer on this year’s Cougars. 
 
Onward and upward.  Hope to see you this Friday at USF.  Go Cougars !!