BASEBALL NOTEBOOK: SKID IS PUTTING HART BASEBALL TEAM IN MUST-WIN POSITION.Byline: GERRY GITTELSON Staff Writer The regular season winds down for Foothill League baseball teams next week, and the pressure has intensified. After losing two of its past three games, Hart (15-8, 9-3) must win all of its remaining three games, including a two-game sweep of first-place Valencia (21-3, 11-1) next week, to claim the title. ``We've put ourselves in this position - we have to be perfect and usually it's not so easy to be perfect,'' Hart coach Jim Ozella said. Hart would have been much better off with a victory over fifth-place Burroughs on Wednesday. Instead, Hart left 11 runners on base and lost 4-2. The teams meet again at Hart today at 3:15 p.m., and Hart hasn't lost at home to Burroughs since 1985. Magic number is one: Valencia can clinch the league title with a victory over visiting Canyon (9-13, 5-7) today at 3:15 p.m. The contest is especially dramatic because Canyon, coming off Wednesdays's 2-1 last-inning loss at Valencia, must fend off Verb 1. fend off - prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; "Let's avoid a confrontation"; "head off a confrontation"; "avert a strike" deflect, forefend, forfend, head off, avert, stave off, ward off, avoid, debar, obviate Saugus (10-11, 5-7) for first place to qualify for the Southern Section Div. I playoffs. The top three teams automatically qualify. At-large entries must have a .500 record or better, which is no impossible for Canyon, which has failed to make the playoffs - or finish with a winning record - over the past three seasons. Saugus can finish fourth and still qualify, and things look good for the Centurions, who finish with a game today against Burroughs (7-15, 4-7), followed by a two-game series against last-place Burbank (3-11, 1-10). ``For us, finishing third is absolutely critical,'' Canyon first-year coach Scott Willis The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. said. ``From the beginning of the year, we expected to make the playoffs, and we're still in the hunt for my expectations to be realized. We've lost a lot of one-run games and stuggled a bit offensively and defensively. ``We're trying to put it all together like everyone else just like everyone else. Yes, we're getting better, but the others are getting better, too.'' Say Hay kid: With three games remaining, plus the possibility of the playoffs, Canyon's Johnny Hay has 11 home runs, two shy of Richie Martin's Foothill League record of 13 (Valencia, 1999). The senior right fielder right fielder n. Baseball The player who defends right field. Noun 1. right fielder - the person who plays right field outfielder - (baseball) a person who plays in the outfield , who was 0 for 2 in the Wednesday's loss to Valencia, is batting .385 with 26 RBIs, a .969 slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (abbreviated SLG) is the most popular measure of the power of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats: and a .506 on-base percentage in 65 at-bats. He's missed one game because of a suspension. Because the race for a playoff play·off also play-off n. Sports 1. A final game or series of games played to break a tie. 2. A series of games played to determine a championship. Noun 1. spot is so tight, Hay's pursuit of the home run record has been reduced to an afterthought af·ter·thought n. An idea, response, or explanation that occurs to one after an event or decision. afterthought Noun 1. . ``Johnny has a chance but right now we don't even think about it,'' Willis said. ``We have more important things going on, like the playoffs. It's a good thing for him (to chase the record), and pitchers pitch to him very carefully. But I would bet right now he'd sacrifice home runs to win a bunch of games in a row. Is he competitive? Extremely so.'' Mighty Casey Mighty Casey ignominiously strikes out in the clutch. [Am. Lit.: “Casey at the Bat” in Turkin, 642] See : Failure at bat: No one loves to be at bat - or on the pitcher's mound - with the game on line more than Valencia's Casey Mulligan mul·li·gan n. A golf shot not tallied against the score, granted in informal play after a poor shot especially from the tee. [Probably from the name Mulligan.] Noun 1. , who thrives on pressure. So perhaps the Vikings were breathing easily when Mulligan came up with the bases loaded and the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh Wednesday against Canyon. Sure enough, Mulligan, who's batting .400 with 18 RBIs, came through with a game-winning single. On this Casey at-bat, there was joy in Mudville. ``Of course you always want Casey up there. He'd been hitting the ball well all day, so I had a good feeling he'd make hard contact, and he singled down the line,'' Snyder said. ``At this point, every game is important because we're trying to match wins with Hart. We won, they lost (Wednesday). We're just trying to take care of business.'' Hill falls down: Juggling sports between football, track and baseball finally caught up with Valencia outfielder Virgil Hill Virgil Eugene Hill (born January 18, 1964 Clinton, Missouri) is a Joplin, Missouri fighter partly of Native American heritage, who forged a solid connection between the state of North Dakota and the sport of boxing. , who injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. his knee during a track meet last week and is expected to miss the remainder of the baseball season. Brian Howe Brian Howe can refer to:
``Not having Virgil hurts us a lot, it really does Warren Trotter, better known as Really Doe, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He is affiliated with Kanye West and his G.O.O.D. Music family and label. Discography Songs
``He's a key defensive guy who gives us speed at the bottom of the lineup.'' Hill is batting .310 with one home run and seven stolen bases. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion