Ramona High baseball dealt first league loss by Valley Center
By Bill Tamburrino
The Bulldog baseball team lost two out of three games to Valley Center in Valley League action. The Dawgs are now 12-7 on the season and are still in contention for the title in the Valley League with a 4-2 record.
One inning cost Ramona its first loss in the Valley League. The Dawgs gave up five runs in the top of the second inning against Valley Center at home and that inning was the major factor in a 6-4 loss. Two errors and a defensive breakdown on a double steal were contributing factors in that inning.
Rhett Williams got the start and took the loss. Williams went five innings and surrendered 11 hits and struck out four. Blake Workman finished on the mound and did not give up a run or a hit and he struck out one. Valley Center’s pitchers Brett Henderson and Kyle Morgan limited Ramona to five hits.
Jordan Farhat was the only Bulldog hitter to register a multiple hit game. Farhat went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Brandon Fitzpatrick, Kevin Hagan, and CJ Broussard all singled in the game. Broussard and Kyle Wilson drove in one run apiece.
Wilson pitched a gem and the Bulldog offense staged a three run come from behind rally as the Dawgs took the second game in the series 3-1 on the road. Wilson went the distance and limited the Jaguars to four hits and did not surrender an earned run. He struck out 10 and only walked one.
“After giving up an unearned run in the first inning he kept his poise and took complete control of the game,” said pitching coach Josh Lohman.
Joel Mitchell delivered the big blow in the fourth inning with a two run double. Fitzpatrick also delivered an RBI single in the frame. Farhat singled and scored a run. Henry Flecker and Gage Canning also contributed hits in the game, and Flecker scored a run.
In the series finale both teams scored in the first inning and a pitching battle ensued between the Jags’ Clayton Sisler and Ramona’s Broussard. In the fifth inning Valley Center scored four runs and eventually won the game 5-2.
Broussard went the distance and gave up four earned runs on eight hits. He struck out five.
Canning went 2-for-4. Mitchell, Hagan, and Broussard also hit safely in the game. The big blow in the game came off the bat of Flecker when he hit a line shot over the right centerfield fence for a solo home run in the sixth inning.
Ramona will play a double header at Orange Glen on Saturday. The first pitch is scheduled for 10:30 am. The second game will be played immediately after the first game.