SAN JOSE, CA – Different game, same story.
For the second day in a row, fans at Bellarmine’s Bob Fatjo Field took in a pitchers' duel on a picturesque afternoon, and once again saw a Bellarmine pitcher come out on top 1-0. This time it was senior Troy Burg who did the heavy lifting for the Bells, just barely outpitching Casa Grande’s Chris Joaquim for the victory.
“Umpire had a pretty big zone; it was working for me. He was giving me the corners, he was giving me the off speed,” said Burg. “Everything was well put together. My defense played a great game behind me and everything just worked out great.”
Similar to junior Kyle Dean, who no-hit Leigh on Friday, Burg pounded the zone and forced his opponents to swing the bat. He finished the day with 71 pitches thrown, 56 of which were strikes (78 percent). Burg struck out two and caused 15 of the 26 hitters he faced to ground out in the Bells’ second consecutive complete game shutout.
“It’s hard to lose when you don’t give up a run,” said coach Mike Rodriguez. “The worst that can happen is extra innings, but you can’t lose.”
Also for the second day in a row, Antonio Garcia scored the game’s only run. The junior walked to lead off the fifth inning, stole second base, and then advanced to third on a Will Wegner bunt single. Jacob Lazar then lined out to second base, but an errant throw by Gaucho second baseman Blake Berry, who attempted to double-up Wegner at second base, allowed Garcia to score, giving the Bells the 1-0 advantage.
“I knew (Joaquim’s) time to the plate was pretty slow, so I knew I could get a good jump, and I just wanted to get myself in the best position to score a run,” said Garcia of his baserunning.
Despite taking the loss, Joaquim pitched well and competed with every batter, finishing the day with one run on two hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out eight hitters.
“Chris pitched great,” said Casa Grande coach Paul Maytorena. “He felt good, he’s been in shape. Hasn’t had many labor intensive innings, so I felt good about him, and he kept us right there. He did everything he can do as a pitcher.”
The one blemish on Joaquim’s outing was his inability to throw first-pitch strikes, as he did so to only 11 of the 23 hitters he faced.
Casa Grande (3-3) will continue to prepare for league play with one more week of games before starting the round-robin portion of the season. The Gauchos travel to Vintage High on Monday for a non-league contest starting at 4 p.m.
As for Bellarmine (5-0), league play begins next week with a road game at Valley Christian on Tuesday afternoon, also at 4 p.m. The Warriors (8-0) are another top contender for the WCAL title with the Bells, and have allowed only two runs all season (Bellarmine has allowed five).
“We just need to make sure that we can be at our best,” said Rodriguez. “When we are at our best, I truly believe that we can beat anybody that’s on our schedule. We can beat any pitcher and any team.”
