Jul 12, 2008

Big bats deliver for Blues

Redwood City puts up 17 runs on the defending champs

By Julio Lara / Daily News Correspondent

Friday's American Legion battle between San Mateo and Redwood City resembled a heavyweight boxing match.

In one corner, you had your reigning champion in Post 82, and in the other, you had the up-and-coming contender, Redwood City, which has been nipping at the chance to prove its time has come.

While there were plenty of swings and hits, it was the drama and spectacle of the event that made the 17-10 shelling Redwood City gave the Orioles something you don't see every day on a baseball field.

Perhaps the first eye-opening thing was the score.

Not even 22 hours removed from shutting out Burlingame in an 11-inning affair, the Orioles' pitching staff did a complete 180. The Blues came rushing out of the gate, and while Eric Davila's three-run double was the crucial blow in the frame, San Mateo starter Daniel Chavez set the whole thing up by surrendering a single and then walking the bases loaded. Alex Sortwell did his best to try and cut off Davila's shot to left-center, but three Blues had already scored. Davila would come around on a potential inning-ending double play turned fielder's choice. The score after one was 4-0.

But no lead is safe against the Orioles - San Mateo did load the bases in its half of the first, but Ray Torres managed to dance his way out of trouble.

The Blues went right back to work in the top of the second. A single, a hit batsman and a John Bordy knock loaded the bases. But unlike San Mateo, the Blues would not waste their opportunity. On the contrary, they capitalized in the ultimate of fashions when Kenny Diekroeger hit a grand slam to right-center field to give the Blues a 8-0 lead.

"That was our game plan coming in," said Blues manager Tink Reynoso. "We wanted to utilize our at-bats as best we could."

Chavez and the Orioles' defense seemed shaken because they started mishandling the baseball. It cost them another run in the same frame when Davila came in to score after a walk and three San Mateo errors.

"We just can't kick the ball around," Orioles manager Mike Chanteloup said. "The whole day was just a little odd."

Any other day, a 9-0 lead would be something to bet a win on, but not last night, not against San Mateo.

"I was never comfortable," Reynoso said, "because everyone in that lineup can hit the ball well."

San Mateo scored its first run in the second against Torres, who, according to Chanteloup, "usually give us problems."

With their lead cut, the Blues turned to the "best defense is a good offense" approach, getting the run back plus one on two hits in the third.

In fact, the rest of the game, whenever San Mateo looked like it was gaining momentum and going to make a serious run, Redwood City answered - and answered louder.

Take the fifth inning, for example. With the Orioles needing more than singles to cut into an 11-2 score, Kevin McEntee hit the first of two homers to right-center. The home run gave his team a boost, and they finished the frame down by seven.

Redwood City saw McEntee's homer and raised them an absolute no-doubter off the bat of Davila.

McEntee then came up in the bottom of the sixth and connected once more, this time driving in three runs on another homer to right-center, and just like that it was 12-7 in favor of Redwood City.

Redwood City counterpunched with a four-run seventh "lowlighted" by two walks and a hit batsman by San Mateo and highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Bordy.

The seventh was when things got weird. First, the fire alarm went off in Aragon High School, distracting the players. Fire crews arrived shortly after. During a postgame speech, Davila told teammates, "We were so hot, we set off the fire alarms." Actually, it was later discovered there had been a chlorine leak at the school.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ryan Allgrove apparently hit a run-scoring double to center field - apparently because the hit was ruled a home run by the field umpire. A flabbergasted Reynoso argued the call for a handful of minutes - even trotting out to center field to try and make his case - much to the chagrin of the San Mateo dugout.

The Orioles got a terrible break in the same frame when their starting shortstop Pierson Jeremiah injured himself sliding into second to try to break up a double play. Jeremiah was carried off the field by his teammates.

The score got as close as 16-9 and finished at 17-10 after both teams exchanged late-inning runs.

"I don't think it was fatigue," said Chanteloup when asked if the game the night before had anything to do with the loss. "We were flat - I don't know if those two are in the same category."