Bulldog baseball posts wins in Pirate-Falcon Classic
By Bill Tamburrino
Ramona’s bats came alive in week two of the season as the Bulldogs beat Murrieta Valley High School and El Camino High School to start the Pirate-Falcon Classic. The two wins improved their record to 2-1 on the season.
The same team that was limited to one hit by Escondido High School and went hitless for two innings broke out of their slump and blasted 15 hits in four innings to beat Murrieta Valley 13-7 in the second game of the classic at Rocky Lawler Field.
Gage Canning got the offense started with a two-run home run in the third inning. Canning would hit another round tripper in his next at bat to complete a four RBI game.
Joel Mitchell, Kevin Hagan, and CJ Broussard all had 3-for-4 outings. Hagan drove in two runs and Broussard had three RBIs. Tyler Sherman also had a multiple hit game by going 2-for-4 with a double. Brandon Fitzpatrick broke the game open in the fourth inning with a two-run double. Jordan Farhat and Jonathon Doulgeropoulos also contributed hits in the offensive barrage.
“For a while, I was wondering when we would start hitting the ball. When we did, we hit some rockets. (Third base coach) Schuler got a sore shoulder from waving runners in,” joked coach Dean Welch.
Kyle Wilson got the start and picked up the win. He went five innings and gave up nine hits and four runs while fanning three. Taylor Burger finished the game on the hill and gave up three runs on two hits and struck out two.
The Bulldogs had to overcome an El Camino comeback to stage a comeback of their own to beat the Wildcats 10-8 in a slugfest at Rocky Lawler Field.
In the third inning, Farhat drew a bases loaded walk to drive in a run and, with two down, Hagan delivered a two-run single to give the Dawgs a three-run lead.
In the fourth inning, Henry Flecker led off with a single and Burger walked. Canning reached on an error scoring Flecker. With two out, Farhat delivered a two-run double and the Dawgs had a 6-1 lead.
The Wildcats trailed 6-2 in the sixth but rallied for five runs to take a 7-6 lead. In the bottom of the frame, Joey Belluso led off with a single. Canning laid down a bunt single. Carl Schwettman sacrificed the runners to second and third. El Camino elected to give Farhat an intentional walk because he had gone 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Mitchell, who in his first at bats in the game, showed the Wildcats why he was the Bulldog cleanup hitter. The slugging first baseman hit a grand slam home run to ensure the victory.
Rhett Williams, who entered in relief of starter Broussard, picked up the win by going two innings and giving up four runs on four hits while fanning two. Broussard went five-plus innings and gave up four runs on seven hits with two strike outs.
The rain washed out a game scheduled with Great Oak High School of Temecula on Saturday that will have to be re-scheduled as the Bulldogs continue to play in tournaments to get ready for Valley League action.