Page One

The St. Mary’s High baseball team lost their second straight extra-inning game on Friday, as Andy Duncan’s sacrifice fly brought home the winning run for St. Joseph in the ninth inning of a 12-11 final at Washington Park in Alameda. 

The loss was St. Mary’s (9-12 overall, 5-3 BSAL) third in a row in BSAL play after starting the league season with five wins. Marcus Johnson pitched 4 2/3 strong innings in relief for the Panthers but took his second loss of the week. St. Joseph’s Chris Goin threw the last 3 2/3 innings for the win. 

The Panthers lost despite some heroics from second baseman Chris Alfert. With his team down to its last out in the seventh inning, trailing 11-10, Alfert hit a Chris Goin pitch into the tall screen in left field for a homerun to send the game into extra innings. The bomb was Alfert’s third round-tripper of the season. 

St. Mary’s had a chance to go ahead in the eighth inning, as Joe Storno led off with a double and advanced to third on a groundball. Jeff Marshall hit a bouncer that St. Joseph shortstop Chad Freitas dove to stop, but Storno got a late break and was nailed at the plate. The Panthers had another chance when Johnson walked to send Marshall to second, but pinch-hitter Marcus Turner struck out to end the threat. Goin put down the top of the St. Mary’s lineup in order to close the game. 

St. Mary’s head coach Andy Shimabukuro termed the two-loss, 18-inning week for his team “brutal,” noting that the Panthers’ thin pitching staff probably cost them both games. 

“That’s what happens when you don’t have someone you can rely on to close down the opposition,” Shimabukuro said. “(Johnson) did a good job, but it’s tough.” 

Freshman Scott Tully had a rocky outing, giving up six runs before being yanked in the third inning. Reliever Tyler Nation didn’t fare any better, surrendering five runs in 1 2/3 innings before Johnson came on. 

The third and fifth innings were disastrous for the Panthers, as St. Joseph (11-11, 5-4) scored five runs in each frame without a single extra-base hit. Both Tully and Nation had trouble with their control and walked several batters who later scored. 

The Panthers, on the other hand, chipped away at St. Joseph starter Pat Larsen, scoring two runs in both the first and fourth innings, then knocking him from the box with a five-run fifth to take a short-lived 9-6 lead. 

But when Nation loaded the bases, then walked in a run and was touched for an RBI single before getting an out in the bottom of the fifth, Johnson came into the game despite throwing two innings on Wednesday against Albany, it was clear the Panthers would need more runs to hold on for a win. He immediately gave up a run-scoring single to Allen SooHoo, and another run scored before the inning was over as the Pilots took an 11-9 lead. 

“When we went up 9-6 and let them come back, that was the turning point,” Shimabukuro said. “Letting them get five runs there just killed us.” 

Johnson got a run back in the sixth, hitting a grounder to score Tom Carman, and Alfert’s blast gave St. Mary’s a glimmer of hope. But Goin wiggled out of the jam in the eighth inning and got Alfert to pop out to second to end the ninth, setting up Duncan’s game-winner. 

As on Wednesday, a fielding gaffe helped the Panthers’ opposition to score the winning run. Johnson walked SooHoo to start the ninth, and Brandon Romo laid down a sacrifice bunt. Johnson fielded the ball on the run but his throw pulled Storno off the bag, putting runners at first and second with no outs. Goin hit a bouncer to Storno, who stepped on first for the easy out, and Shimabukuro chose to walk Freitas intentionally to load the bases for a force play. But Duncan foiled the plan by hitting a deep flyball to right field, and Pete McGuinness’s throw was too late to save the game. 

The loss may have knocked St. Mary’s out of contention for a top-two seed in the BSAL playoffs, which would have meant a bye in the first round. A bye is of key importance to the Panthers, since Storno is their only reliable pitcher. Winning the BSAL playoff title is also of utmost importance for St. Mary’s North Coast Section hopes, since their overall record will likely not impress the selection committee enough to earn an at-large bid.