The Buccaneers baseball team took a 5-4 loss from Santana High Tuesday, May 27, at Mission Bay High. Coming on the heels of another one-run loss to Montgomery May 24 1-0, the Bucs were eliminated from the 2008 CIF playoffs.
“They battled to the end,” said head coach Greg Farrar. “They never lost hope or confidence that they could play with anybody.”
The matchup at second-seed Montgomery High extended into the eighth inning before the Aztecs earned a single run. The loss bumped the Bucs into the consolation bracket of the double-elimination Division III playoffs.
The No. 3 seed Bucs had defeated unseeded Santana May 21 by a score of 8-2. The Sultans pitching unraveled in that game while the Bucs harvested easy runs.
In the rematch on Tuesday, Santana stung Mission Bay ace pitcher Francisco Valdez for five runs on four hits in the first inning.
Buccaneer shortstop Brian Sagun answered the challenge in the bottom of the first with a solo home run into the left field bleachers ” powered into a 10-mph wind.
John Lopez scored on a bunt by Valdez in the second inning as the Bucs carefully worked runners around the bases.
Mission Bay added two more runs in the fifth and was threatening in the sixth but was unable to get the timely hit they needed to score the runners on base.
The loss completed the Bucs season in the third round of the playoffs with a 21-12 record. Santana emerged 20-12-1. The Sultans must get past Montgomery twice in order to reach the championship game at SDSU Saturday.
Still competing in prep athletic action are Mission Bay’s two top track and field athletes. Charles Jock won the 800-meter event to top all others in the county by more than a second. Junior Isiah Forney delivered a 54-foot””10-inch shotput throw for second place and also advance to the state championships.
“He’s peaking at the right time,” said throwing coach Steve Henson. “Forney still has better throws in him.”
Mission Bay sports information is available from the school at (858) 273-1313 or at www.MissionBay
High.com