Will McAffer with a solid 7.1 IP Saturday in game 2
Will McAffer with a solid 7.1 IP Saturday in game 2

Vaqueros baseball splits with Yavapai

In the bottom of the first inning of game two, the first four batters reached and a run scored on Will McAffer and the next play changed the course of the whole day.

McAffer to Johnson to Garcia for the double play.

McAffer sat down the third out looking and Central Arizona College got out of the inning with only one run scored and went on for a game two 10-4 win and a Saturday split.

Game 1

Grant Townsend threw five and a third striking out five and giving up three earned runs.

"Yeah he threw pretty well, we just had a bad defensive first inning" said head coach Anthony Gilich. "After that we played great defensive baseball and it was good to see our hitting come around."

The hitting came around in game two, not much in game 1, as Central had only six hits in the seven inning game. In the 6-2 loss, leadoff Matt Kroon reached three times with a single and two walks driving in two, and catcher Ty Johnson added two hits. 

Game 2

With a walk, two singles, and a double, national champion Yavapai College already had a run in with nobody out in the bottom of the first. With bases full, Will McAffer then fielded a grounder, threw to Ty Johnson at home who popped one to Alix Garcia for the double play and McAffer got a backwards K for the third out. Whew.

That one double play was a complete change of mindset.

Makoa Rosario hit one out for an opposite field homerun and Bradley Morgan hit one out into right also, and Central went on to collect 15 hits in a 10-4 win.

Garcia drove in two runs with a double and two singles, Pikai Duque-Winchester scored twice with two hits, and two more hits apiece from Brent Bailey and Jake Vander Wal.

McAffer picked up his second win of the year and Andrew Edwards and Bradley Gonzales finished up the final 1.2 with two strikeouts apiece. A nice way to end the game.

"We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of things" said Gilich. "We'll see who steps it up in the upcoming weeks."

Thoughts

-There is a lot to see develop on this team with so many new players, and a lot of baseball to play. It will be exciting. The conference seems strong this year and seemingly each game these Vaqueros with their reputation and national ranking will see each team's best starting pitcher. 

-One thing has become clear, when Central is laying down SAC bunts, getting hit by pitches, stealing bases and being aggressive on the pads, many runs cross. When this happens, you start seeing oppenents baseballs flying all over the field and into places balls shouldn't be. The head coach has said that's what they want to do every game, and he said that on his first day of his first year as head coach. The Vaqueros are third in OBP in the conference so that's a nice setup for the rest of the season.

-The pitching rotation is a complete winner, and defensively at this point, the only sealed position is first base in Alix Garcia.

-In what batting order these players appear, well, at this early stage of the season, you just don't know. And it might stay that way. 

-Blade

bladestage@gmail.com