Walnut Creek vibes to victory over Menlo Park
The Crawdads opened the week by defeating the Legends 6-3 on Tuesday
On the road at Menlo Park, the lights beamed down on a day that produced a little more coolness as it went on. After emerging to a 6-0 lead through the top half of the eighth, things turned slightly sour.
Before the Crawdads could blink, the Legends made the game interesting for their home fans. It became bases loaded with one out. As Crawdads manager Brant Cummings took his trot from the dugout onto the mound and made a signal for a pitching change, there was one guy he trusted to call upon and limit the damage.
Right-handed pitcher Myles Brand.
Brand gave up a single and a sac fly but ultimately closed the door on what could have been a bigger inning and sparked a comeback. Brand went back out for the ninth inning to seal the game, ending the possible comeback of Menlo Park and helping Walnut Creek secure a 6-3 win.
"We need to keep some distance ahead of San Luis Obispo," Cummings said. "It is important for us to keep winning. We do not want to rely on them losing. If we continue to win, we control (the playoff seeding)."
The Crawdads started the game as any team would like: scoring in the first frame. Following outfielder Daniel Polasek walking to lead off the game and third baseman Aiden Robles singling to follow suit, designated hitter Sutter Moss stepped up in a prime position to capitalize. Moss roped a single, scoring Polasek and moving Robles to third.
Catcher Riley Winchell joined the RBI train, driving in Robles on a fielder's choice, bringing Walnut Creek to an early 2-0 lead.
Every starting hitter for the Crawdads garnered at least one hit besides one. Robles was one of five guys to generate an RBI and the only Crawdad to have a multi-hit game. When asked about the offense and how good it's been, particularly for him since joining the team, Robles mentioned his approach at the plate.
"I was trying to be aggressive," Robles said. "I knew I took a couple pitches I could have hit. Throughout the game I was trying to be more aggressive. I wanted to get that pitch to hit and capitalize on the mistake pitch and get the boys rolling."
On the flip side, Walnut Creek stayed even-keeled on the bump, only allowing two earned runs. Right-handed pitcher Alessandro Martinez started the game and did his normal work. Martinez struck out six and allowed two hits and no walks in a very quick four innings.
Left-handed pitcher Ryan DeLaney and right-handed pitcher Weston Thornbury followed suit. They combined for four hits, two walks and one strikeout across three innings pitched.
Martinez mentioned what was so effective for him on Tuesday following another dominant start in which he threw under 60 pitches.
"Getting ahead early and locating my off-speed pitches for strikes," Martinez said. "I faced them earlier in the season and they struggled on my off-speed. So (catcher) Riley Winchell and I made off-speed strikes and got ahead early as the game plan."
Broken, battered and bruised. Walnut Creek had left opponents feeling that way on the scoreboard, but has also felt that way in its own right in terms of players. For Walnut Creek, two players have already left because of injury and multiple others are fighting through injuries. Cummings credited the resiliency of his guys and praised those still here for fighting through it.
Walnut Creek's regular season is near its end. It will head back to Monte Vista High School for its penultimate matchup against San Francisco on Wednesday, July 22 at 4:00 p.m. PDT.