Mesa’s baseball team falls short against South Mountain
Jonathon Smith
Mesa’s baseball team squared off against South Mountain in back to back games on March 2-3.
The first game was a forgettable one for any Mesa fan. The hitting wasn’t quite there, and the defense was a bit sloppy.
After falling 7-2 in the first game, Mesa headed to South Mountain for a rematch on the road.
Though hits were still tough to come by, the team was fired up. They played inspired defense, and were locked in a one run tie heading into the eighth inning.
“We definitely gave South Mountain a better game today,” said pitcher Michael Gaskins .
The effort was there, but two critical errors late in the game cost them. An error in the field and a balk by the pitcher allowed South Mountain to take a one run lead heading into the ninth inning.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Mesa’s Derek McCawley launched a shot to centerfield that looked like it might tie the game up at two apiece. Unfortunately at 410 feet, it was the deepest part of the ball park, and the ball dropped as the fielder reached the warning track.
“It’s tough to lose like that, but we battled hard. We just have to come out at practice tomorrow and hit it hard. The balk certainly hurt us, but we need to pick up the hitting and just play solid baseball come Friday,” Gaskins said.
The loss takes the team to 3-5 in conference play, though with three losses by only a run, this team could easily be 5-3 or even 6-2.
The season is still young, and Mesa hopes to rebound from the tough loss.
“We’ll be alright. We’ve have some tough losses, but we’ll respond. We have a lot of talent on this team, it’s just a matter of putting it all together,” Gaskins said.
