For all the uncertainty surrounding the 2019 AAA Baseball Championship - a game that’s already been moved from its original scheduled date by a week and will need rain to hold off in order to be played on Wednesday - what’s certain is that whenever and wherever Lowell and Washington do take the field, runs will be at a premium.
Washington reached the championship with a 1-0 upset victory over Mission in the semifinals, earning the Eagles a shot at six-time defending champion Lowell, a team that hasn’t allowed a run in the past two championship games and shut Washington (12-15) out in all three meetings the teams played during the regular season.
Originally, the game was scheduled for May 8, but constant rains throughout March and into April led to a chain reaction of postponements and reschedulings, forcing the teams to play a week later. Rather than having Oracle Park to themselves, the Cardinals and Eagles will get to take the field after the conclusion of a Major League game, something of a double-edged sword. While getting to play on a diamond shortly after the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays play will be a surreal experience, the teams will be at the mercy of the length of the game, one that could be impacted by wet weather in the forecast.
In the event that rain makes the game unplayable, the teams will either jump to USF’s Benedetti Diamond on Thursday afternoon or, as a last result, SF State’s Maloney Field the following Monday if need be. The field at Oracle Park can handle its share of water, but the Giants-Blue Jays game will need to be finished first and the umpires will have the final say on the status of the AAA championship.
Whenever the teams do actually get to play, though, they’ll be looking to use the same recipe that got them to the championship game in the first place. Lowell (21-6) has dominated the league with a sophomore-heavy roster, including pitcher Jack Schonherr, and senior hurler Levi Humphrey. The Cardinals have allowed just two runs per game to AAA opponents, and in last Thursday’s semifinal against Lincoln, two was the magic number as Schonherr took care of the first five innings and Humphrey handled the last two in a 4-2 victory. The sophomores had their fingerprints all over the win, with Philippe Astier singling in the game’s first run as part of a three-run second inning rally. Schonherr scored that first run and crossed the plate again in the fourth on a wild pitch, ensuring the Cardinals would have a shot at a seventh consecutive title.
Washington’s semifinal win came with a senior on the mound, as James Monterrosa hurled a complete game three-hitter, but members of every class factored in for the Eagles. Junior catcher Josh Wong threw a runner out at second in the seventh and another junior, Christopher Wong, brought the game’s only run home with a sac fly in the second inning. Sophomore Gilbert Diccion played tremendous defense at first base and freshman Kayne Moody impressed at shortstop, making difficult plays in each of the final three innings to shut out the Bears.
