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By Daniel Kim
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Apr. 27, 2009 |
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Sophomore pitcher Jacob Gleason steps up to the pitcher’s mound and throws a curveball. The Lincoln batter swings and misses. “Strike three, you’re out!” the umpire shouts — Gleason has earned his fourteenth strikeout. Such was Gleason’s performance in the Cardinals’ walloping of the Mustangs on March 20.
After finishing 5-3 in the regular season, the JV boys’ baseball team faced Lincoln in the intense heat on April 20. Back and forth, the score changed and the Cardinals were down 10-9 in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore outfielder Thomas Kroner hit a home run to tie the game at 10. At the top of the seventh, Gleason’s solid performance shut down the Mustangs before sophomore first basemen Edward King scored the game-winning hit, with a final score of 11-10.
The victory allowed the Cardinals to advance to the championship, but it was also important in other ways. “We felt like we were the superior team and this game just showed how much heart we have,” sophomore second basemen Eric Chong said. “We were down at certain points of the game with mistakes and also down on the scoreboard, but we still had the mental toughness to come back and win.”
On April 15, the Cardinals suffered a disappointing 9-11 loss to Balboa. Although the team was up by four in the first inning, the Buccaneers’ offense was too much for the Cardinals to handle. The loss didn’t matter too much, though, because the Cardinals had already clinched a playoff spot. “It’s frustrating to lose to the same team twice, but it’s the postseason that matters,” Gleason said.
Washington also dealt the team a loss on April 13. After falling behind by six runs in the first inning, the Cardinals never came close to coming back and were routed 15-4. “After we were down in the first, it was really tough to come back,” freshman second-basemen Max Lewin said.
The Cardinals made a statement by blowing out the Galileo Lions twice with a 14-4 win on April 1 and a 7-0 win on March 31. A combination of good hitting and all around great team defense led to the two victories.
On March 23, the boys played a close game against Balboa and lost 5-6. Although Gleason threw another complete game with six strikeouts, fatigue and some critical errors from the Cardinal’s defense gave the Buccaneers the upperhand. “It was a tough last inning loss,” Kroner said.
On March 20, however, the Cardinals shut down the Lincoln Mustangs 13-2. The Cardinals hit the ball well, but played shaky defense, giving up two unearned runs. However, Gleason stepped up and threw a complete game with 14 strikeouts.
Despite a poor pre-season performance, the Cardinals have learned from their mistakes and defeated most of their opponents. “We are starting to come together both at the plate and in the field and our pitchers are continuing to throw strikes and get outs,” Gleason said. “For us to be successful, we need to throw strikes, play good defense and put the ball in play. If we do all three of those things, we’ll be pretty tough to beat.”
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