Cabrillo clinches at least a share of conference title
BY: THOMAS FREY
APTOS — The Cabrillo Seahawks clinched at least a share of the Coast Conference Pacific with an 11-3 win over Hartnell College Thursday in Aptos.
It is a return to the top for the Seahawks a year after a third-place finish. They currently hold a one game lead over Canada College.
Cabrillo (24-11, 14-3) will play Skyline College in their final conference game of the year tomorrow. A win would clinch the conference title outright. Even though Skyline has a .471 winning percentage in conference play, it is not a game the Seahawks will be taking lightly. The two teams have met twice this season, and in the second meeting Cabrillo narrowly won 4-3 in a game which went 13 innings.
The Seahawks play at Skyline tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.
"I don't think a lot of us set out to share the title," said Cabrillo center fielder Clayton Andrews. "We've still got work to do. Skyline is not going to be easy. We still have to come out and take care of business like we should."
Andrews took care of business against Hartnell the instant he stepped into the batter's box.
The freshman leadoff hitter hit a bomb into deep right field and used his speed to turn the hit into a triple. He scored on the next at-bat, a hit by sophomore shortstop Scott Akrop.
The Seahawks got their first three batters on base but only got Andrews across the plate.
In the second inning, Andrews was right in the middle of the scoring again. Up 2-0, he came to the plate and beat out a high chopper to the shortstop. He later scored on a single by freshman catcher Nick Ciandro. By the time the second inning was over, the Seahawks held a 6-0 lead.
They finished with 19 hits on the game.
"Clayton is the best player on our team every game," said Cabrillo head coach Bob Kittle. "Then when you put him and Akrop, the two best players in the conference, back-to-back, it puts a lot of pressure on the other team."
The six-run lead was more than enough for sophomore pitcher Devon Loomis, who twirled a gem in his first five innings of work.
"It's always nice when you can go out there and have a little bit of a cushion," Loomis said. "You can kind of attack the guy, you don't have to worry about them hitting you. You can just go and attack the guy and if they get a couple hits, then that is the way it goes."
He struck out two batters in the first, then ended the second inning by placing a pitch exactly where he wanted to strikeout a Hartnell batter looking.
In the first five innings, Loomis allowed four to reach base on a free pass while allowing just one hit. Two of those five were taken off the basepath trying to steal on Ciandro. Each time, Ciandro dug out a tough pitch and fired a bullet to second to throw out the runner.
"[Nick] has been doing great," Kittle said. "He is playing with two sprained wrists and he can barely practice. What he is doing on the field is extra special knowing that. He has been solid, especially for a freshman."
Loomis was solid until the sixth inning came around. He allowed six hits and three earned runs in the frame. He regained his composure to end the inning by striking out Sebastian Guillen on a full count with the bases loaded.
"They had a little momentum with a few hits here and there," Loomis said. "I just threw a fastball right there and I was fortunate enough that he swung and missed that to get out of the inning before it got to damaging."
Loomis was removed from the game after the sixth inning and he finished with five strikeouts.
Scott Petrosky, Steven Eichhorn and Andrews came out from the bullpen to each pitch an inning and finish out the game. Andrews struck out two in the ninth, including the final batter.
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