4/4: Baseball experts will tell you it’s tough to win if you don’t score, and that was the case for the JV Giants, who lost 1-0 to San Marin on an overcast day in Novato. With the loss the Giants record falls to 4-2 in MCAL play and 7-4 overall.
Sam Rice started on the mound for the Giants, and even though he was feeling under the weather he delivered with three innings of shutout ball on no hits allowed.
Tristan Schwartz started for San Marin, and although the Giants threatened on a few occasions, they were unable to break through with the timely two-out hit needed to score. Schwartz went six and two-thirds innings, striking out five without a walk.
Isaak Irmini-Kreft relieved Rice in the bottom of the fourth and also pitched well. Rice and Irmini-Kreft were supported by stellar outfield defense from Asher Jacobs in left and Thomas Johnson in center, who both covered lots of ground to take away potential extra base hits by the Mustangs. Rice did the same after leaving the mound and taking over in right field.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Mustangs were threatening with pinch-runner Xander Kane-D’Amico on second and two down. San Marin shortstop Zack Chilson lined a single to left, and with two outs in a scoreless game San Marin’s third base coach opted for aggression and sent Kane-D’Amico home. Jacobs charged the ball hard and unleashed a perfect throw to catcher Ethan Crawford at home plate and Kane-D’Amico was out by ten feet to preserve the scoreless tie.
After the Giants went down in order in the top of the sixth, the Mustangs finally broke through for a run in the bottom half, with Chase McAndrew driving in Schwartz from second with a line drive single to left, and heading into the Giants’ final at-bat it was 1-0 San Marin.
Hope sprung eternal in the top of the seventh when Sam McIntosh led off with one of his patented hit by pitch plate appearances. But McIntosh never got any further than first base as the Giants went down in order from there to end it.
It’s a good time for Spring Break, and hopefully the Giants bats, whose vacation started a little too early, can bounce back when they face San Rafael on Friday, April 12. First pitch is at 4:30 PM at Moody Field.