A rare Day indeed as Hawks win 2-0!
by CRC Sports Information
As sports fans, we seldom get to see the records set, or any of the truly special happenings in a given sport.
No-hitters for example are so rare as to become moments of lore to future generations. When you are in the right place at the right time it's fantastic to be a part of it.
For the Cosumnes River Baseball team yesterday in a road game that was huge, they got not only a glimpse, but they had to watch a no-hitter go against them which was a first for veteran CRC Coach Tony Bloomfield, "I've been part of a no-hitter before, but never on the winning end of being no-hit"
What made it even more special was they dug deep when it counted and came up with a win against Sierra College (15-17, 5-12) for their 12th win in Big 8 conference action. Bloomfield lamented the fact that the Hawks couldn't get the timely hit they have been able to throughout the year, "we should have had several more runs but we just couldn't connect when we had base runners, their pitchers were a little wild and we took advantage of what they gave us."
The Hawks (25-7, 12-5) did their usual wait it out thing and took the eight walks the Sierra starters offered and that was ultimately what doomed the Wolverines.
The Hawks scored first in the bottom of the second when they loaded the bases with walks to Brian Morley, Jordan Yu, and Peyton Wheatley. Brooks Day brought home the first run with his ability to put the ball in play as he hit into a double play which scored Morley with the only run the Hawks would ultimately need.
In the seventh inning it was another walk that started it, this one to Yu again, his third of the game, He moved to second on a passed ball, and to third on a Wheatley groundout. With one out Day was again in position to be Mr. Clutch and he came through with a hard line out to center field bringing home Yu on the sacrifice fly.
Pitching was again the strength for the Hawks as Matt Stafford was outstanding in his start. Stafford pitched eight innings giving up seven hits without a walk. Stafford is now 7-1 on the season with a sparkling 2.31 ERA. There are even better numbers for Stafford in Big 8 play, as he is 4-1 with just a 1.17 ERA.
Thomas Galart again pitched well in relief of Stafford, giving up just a hit in his inning of work, although it wasn't without a few anxious moments. With one out in the ninth, Galart gave up a single and the next batter reached base on an error, which put the tying run in scoring position at second.
Who steps into the limelight again? Why it's Brooks Day as the next batter hit a ground ball to third, which made worried Galart, "I definitely felt my heart pound as that ball looked like it might be trouble but Brooks made a good play."
Two down and the nerves weren't settled yet as the next batter hit a liner to Day at third who again made a nice play to save the win and preserve the save for Galart his second of the year.
Galart has been one of the Hawks who has stepped up during the absence of Jeremy Caldwell due to the next man up philosophy. "I just feel a lot more confident right now, especially with all the guys behind me in the field who have my back, I'm throwing well right now and the confidence the coaches have in me makes things special too."
Galart is no stranger to no-hitters that are out of the ordinary either, " I was part of a double no-hitter during my senior year when we played at Raley Field, that was different too."
Next up for the Hawks is the final game of the season series against Sierra College on Thursday at Conway Field at 2:30 pm. Following that, first place Santa Rosa comes to town on Saturday to begin the season ending series with two of the three games here at CRC, for all the Big 8 conference marbles.
http://www.crchawks.com/sports/bsb/2015-16/releases/20160420hxe6im