The crosstown rivalry found a team battling for first play and the other team battling for their first district win. In the end the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears used a big inning to beat the West Orange-Stark Mustangs 10-7 Friday night at Ronnie Anderson Park.
LC-M won its third straight game and is 3-1 in district. West Orange-Stark is still looking for its initial win in district and is 0-4.
The pitching was not good from either team and neither was the fielding. Of the 17 runs scored five of the runs were unearned, three against the Mustangs and two against the Bears.
The Bears took advantage of an error in the first inning to score their first run. Jordan Alexander led off the game with a walk, got to third on a stolen base and a ground out, before scoring on a Mustang error on a ground ball.
The Mustangs responded with two in the bottom of the first also thanks to an error by the Bears. Will Robles reached on an error and went to third on a double to center by Justin Veitch. Both scored with two out when Jerren Terrell doubled to the right center field fence to give West Orange-Stark the lead 2-1 after one.
The lead increased in the bottom of the second. Kaleb Istre was walked on four pitches. He stole second and scored from there as Jacob Dominguez delivered another clutch two out hit to make the score 3-1.
In the top of the third inning Little Cypress-Mauriceville exploded for seven runs. The Bears used only two hits in the rally. Two errors got the run parade started, four walks kept it going, and a three-run double by Alexander closed it with LC-M leading 8-3.
West Orange-Stark scored two runs in the fourth, again started by Istre who singled. Istre got to third with a stolen base and a ground out. Dominguez was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and third. Dominguez stole second. Robles grounded out to shortstop to drive in Istre. Veitch made the score 8-5 when he singled home Dominguez.
The advantage went back to five runs as LC-M tallied two in the top of the sixth. Anthony Bandiero just missed a homerun with a double off the right center field fence. He scored on a base hit by Hunter Perkins who went to second on the throw home.
Ashton Landry pinch ran for Perkins and stole third. Brett Burrows hit a sacrifice fly to left to bring in Landry and put the Bears up 10-5.
It did not take the Mustangs long to answer. In the bottom half of the sixth Veitch reached base for the fourth straight time with a walk. Da’quarius Gipson was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base. Again with two outs WO-S got a big hit. Jalen Thompson tripled to the right center field fence scoring pinch runner Chavon Crawford and Gipson to reduce the lead to three once more.
That would be it as the Mustangs made a base running error with runners at first and third to stop the threat. The Bears brought Max Dileo in to pitch against Istre. With a count of one ball and two strikes on the batter, Dileo faked a pickoff throw to the third which had the runner diving back to the base. Meanwhile a Mustang runner at first really bought the fake as well and started for second where he was tagged out to retire the side.
Dominguez reached base in the seventh inning on a two-out error. Dileo getting his second strikeout of the inning ended the game and saved the win for the Bears.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
LCM 1 0 7 0 0 2 0- 10
WOS 2 1 0 2 0 2 0- 7
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