Torrey Pines pitches way past Patrick Henry in Lions Tournament
Third-ranked Falcons follow 3 consecutive shutouts with Thursday's 4-1 win over the host Patriots Torrey Pines High School has won the Open Division of the 74th annual Lions Baseball Tournament, beating Patrick Henry 4-1. The Falcons' pitching staff was named the MVP of the tournament, with senior Eirevan Saper making his varsity debut and senior Reece Dixon starting a game for the first time since his freshman year. The team's lone loss came in a 1-0 duel with Sage Creek. The coaching staff now has a 0.47 ERA.
Publicado : hace 4 semanas por Jim Lindgren en Sports
Moments after Albert Preciado of the San Diego Lions Club presented Torrey Pines High School coach Chris Possemato with a trophy bat for winning the Open Division of the 74th annual Lions Baseball Tournament, Possemato’s final task of a near-perfect week was to select the Falcons’ MVP of the tournament.
“The MVP of this tournament is our pitching staff,” he said. “So, anyone who threw this week get your hand on this and celebrate.”
The No. 4-ranked Falcons (12-1) followed three consecutive shutouts this week with a 4-1 win over No. 7 Patrick Henry (12-3) in Thursday’s championship at Henry.
It didn’t matter that senior Eirevan Saper (1-0) made his varsity debut and started a game for the first time since his freshman year. Likewise, senior Reece Dixon pitched for the first time this season. They split the first six innings before closer Jace Barajas picked up his sixth save and has yet to allow a hit this season.
“It would have been hard to pick one guy for MVP,” Possemato said. “Everybody stepped up well this week, the whole season.”
In the bottom of the first, Saper yielded a leadoff single to Alex Mestman, who stole second base, went to third on an error and scored an unearned run on a ground out by Talin Gardini, who now has 16 RBIs.
That was the lone hit for Henry and only the 10th run allowed by Torrey Pines all season. The Falcons’ lone loss came in a 1-0 duel with Sage Creek. The TP staff now has a 0.47 ERA.
“The numbers are kind of scary,” Possemato said. “I’m having a hard time looking at those without thinking I screwed up my math.
“We’ve got some great pitchers, a great pitching coach (former big-leaguer Kirk McCaskill), and they’re performing so well.”
Saper admitted to being a bit nervous. “It’s been a while since I pitched,” he said. “I felt a little nervous, but I was confident in the defense behind me.”
Barajas was anything but nervous. “I like to come in every game and shut the door,” he said. “I always look forward to that.”
Torrey Pines got single runs in four different innings with three of them coming on sacrifice flies. Aiden Stroot was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI sac flies. Dolan Maher drove in the first run with a long fly to center, and Barajas drove in a run with a seeing-eye grounder to left field in the fifth.
“We had a really good week, too,” said Sheldon Watkins, Henry’s coach for the past seven years. “We knew that whoever brought the most energy would probably win. They did that. They play with a lot of confidence. We’d love to see them again in the playoffs.”