March 16, 2011
Mustangs Shine through rain
In a rain soaked contest at Monte Vista High on Tuesday afternoon, the Mustangs were able to pull out a 2-0 win over Heritage in a game called after five innings. The victory, which was propelled by a strong pitching outing from junior Daniel Gallagher, leaves them perfect on the young season at 6-0.
The conditions were tough from the beginning as Heritage looked to possibly get on the board in the first inning when junior Carlos Carrillo led the game off with an opposite field double. However, the Patriots weren't able to bring him in for what would prove to be a pivotal point of the game. The game remained scoreless as Gallagher and Heritage junior right-hander Paul Blackburn were able to get into good rhythms early. In the bottom of the third, catcher Brad Mulvihill reached on an infield single before Ryan Lacy perfectly placed a double into right field right down the line to give Monte Vista runners on second and third with no outs. CJ Robertson plated the first run with a single back up the middle and Brandon Carr made it 2-0 on a sacrifice fly to left field.
Both team never challenged again and as the rain continued to fall steadily, the game was called after five innings as Monte Vista wins a pitcher's duel with the teams combining for seven hits.
"I just like the way we play the game, even today in a tough difficult game to play," Monte Vista head coach Bill Piona said. "We kept our focus, we battled, came up with a couple of clutch hits."
W: Gallagher L: Blackburn Top Players: Heritage - Blackburn 5IP, 6H, 2ER, 3K Monte Vista - Lacy 2-for-3, 2B, R; Gallagher 5IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 3K
Monte Vista: The story was Gallagher in this one as the 6-foot-5 junior showed nice control and a good feel for his breaking stuff to work off the fastball. He pitched at a good tempo and challenged hitters early in the count, which was key on a day like today.
"He has very good control and he has a very good breaking ball. He can throw his breaking ball anywhere in the count and as he gets stronger, he going to be even better," Piona said. "He can get a little stronger, which will help his fastball and help him stay out there a little longer. He's very consistent and for a guy that big, he repeats really well. If you are a high school guy who can throw his breaking ball anytime in the count, it makes you pretty good."
Lacy, a senior, showed he can go to the opposite field and covers the plate well. Talented junior Tony DiMartino, already a verbal commitment to Arizona State, battled well on his first at-bat to get an opposite field double and also showed good hands in receiving throws at first base.
Heritage: Heritage was paced by the pitching of Blackburn, who had stretches of easily working through the order on Tuesday. His delivery allows him to build up his power and showed a nice fastball and breaking stuff. He has the feel on his breaking stuff to throw it for strikes. While he gave up six hits, he had very few balls hit hard against him. Senior outfielder Robert Pereira had two solid at-bats with a solid line-out to the opposite field in right and battling in the fifth before striking out against some quality stuff from Gallagher.
