San Diego Prep Baseball : After the Dust Clears, Crawford Ends Up on Top, 7-6

Wednesday afternoon’s Crawford High School-San Diego game was anything but mundane.

This affair at Crawford featured fielding errors, mental errors, spectators trading insults with players, players trading insults with each other, coaches questioning umpires’ eyesight and a bench-clearing episode which almost led to a fight.

In the end, it was an eighth-inning single by Colt second baseman Jack Palestini that gave Crawford a 7-6 win in this City Central League game. Crawford is 3-1 in league, 7-10 overall and trails first-place Christian by a game. The Cavers fall to 0-4 and 4-13.

David Rojas pitched 1 innings in relief and was the winning pitcher. Prentis Byrd took the loss.

Palestini’s game-winning hit was his retribution. He made a foolish play in the top of the seventh that allowed San Diego to tie the score and send the game to extra innings.

Pinch-hitter David Meador led off the seventh with a bunt single. He then moved to second on a wild pitch. That brought up designated hitter Mario Guzman, who hit a chopper to Palestini. All Palestini had to do was retire Guzman at first, and there would have been two men out. Instead, Palestini tried to get Meador at third.

Meador beat the throw, and Byron Johnson followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game.

“That kind of a play wasn’t very intelligent,” said Colt Coach Roger Engle. “We get the next batter out, and we’re out of the inning. I don’t know what he was thinking about.”

Said Palestini, who had three hits, including a home run, and drove in two runs: “I thought I had a shot at him (Meador). He didn’t get a good jump off second. It was a mental error.”

But Palestini atoned when he lined a Byrd fastball into right-center in the eighth to win the game. Lead-off man Scott Northeimer opened the inning with a single and advanced to third as Byrd’s pickoff attempt squirted out of Johnson’s glove and went down the right-field line.

The near-brawl took place in the bottom of the seventh. Colt left fielder Tracy Wesley singled with two outs, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Rick Anderson followed with a walk.

With Northeimer up, Anderson broke for second on a delayed steal, then Wesley dashed toward home. Caver second baseman Mike Hall threw to the plate, and catcher Steve Morgan tagged out Wesley in a close play.

Engle came charging out of the dugout to dispute the call. Morgan, who’d been razzed by Crawford students the entire game, exchanged words with Colt catcher Todd Armer. Morgan then went after Engle, telling him to “Shut up,” among other things.

Both benches cleared and Armer started toward Morgan but was restrained. Order was restored shortly thereafter.

Is there an intense rivalry between the Cavers and Colts?

“No,” Engle said. “Mouths get going sometimes in the heat of battle. Everybody has their own philosophy.”