April 26, 2016. Al Endriss Field: Freshman Split Season Series with Campolindo. The Freshman baseball team was coming off a 6-0 victory vs. San Marin High School on Monday night in MCAL play going into tonight’s home game vs. visiting Campolindo High School from Orinda. The Giants won the first meeting with Campo (4-3 in extra innings) to set up the possible season sweep of the home and away series.
The Giant’s came out swinging after starting pitcher, Jack Hake, started his outing strong. In the bottom half of the first inning, the Giants scored as many runs as their previous game total against their cross-town rival. First baseman, Robbie Wilson, was hit by a pitch. Wilson quickly stole second. Second baseman, Genki LeClair, then started his two hit day with a double, scoring Wilson from second. Le Clair would go on to steal third. An errant throw down to the Campo first baseman would allow LeClair to score easily from third. 2-0. Jackson Barry and Enzo Santa would draw walks. Catcher, Sam Warren, would capitalize on the free bases by driving a ball to left field for a double, scoring Santa and Barry. (4-0)
In the second inning, the Campo pitcher would continue to have difficulty finding the strike-zone, hitting and walking giant batters in the process. In Robbie Wilson’s case, his second in a row. Le Clair would single moving Wilson to second. The previously walked Zack Gordon had made his way to third base. The Giants then relied on Jackson Barry to lay down a suicide squeeze play bunt with success, scoring Gordon from third. (5-0)
In the top half of the third inning, the weather would certainly play a factor. With chilly winds blowing directly out to center-field, the Giants fell victim to a unlikely defensive collapse, giving up twelve runs, most of which were unearned. Their previous five run cushion eliminated over the course of a forgettable inning. (12-5).
The Giant’s, nonetheless, would rally in the bottom half of the third with three runs of their own. Jacob Klionsky would double to left and Robbie Wilson would single to center. The Campo pitcher had walked Le Clair, Barry and Jack Morken before-hand, giving Redwood three runs back. (12-8).
Campo would pick up a run in the top half of the fourth. (13-8). Jeremy Sellier would enter the game in relief in the fifth inning and put a stop to any Campo scoring. Things looked very promising in the bottom half of the fifth inning. Jack Morken and Genki LeClair would both single. In a pivotal moment in the game, Jacob Klionsky hit the ball hard up the middle, hitting the pitcher and seemingly scoring Le Clair and keeping the two-out rally alive. Remarkably, the umpire called Klionsky out for “stepping out of the batters box,” ending the inning and the Giant’s rally. The game ended after seven innings of play, 14 to 8 Campolindo.
Notable Stats: Sam Warren(2 hits, 2RBI’s, 1 run); Genki LeClair (2Hits, 2BB,1 RBI, 1 run). The Giants left thirteen men on base, committed four errors and combined to throw 159 pitches with five different pitchers. The Giant pitching staff had seven strikeouts in the game but gave up six unearned runs. The day started out extremely promising for the Giants. Bad baseball weather challenged both sides. The Giant’s, despite some difficulties during the game, stayed in the match until the every end. A different call and one less error would have potentially given the Giant’s a sweep. The Giants will look to bounce back and put that third inning in their rear-view mirror when they play Terra Linda to resume MCAL play this Saturday, April 30th, at Terra Linda High School. First pitch-11 a.m. GO GIANTS!