Notre Dame Enjoys a Field Day at Expense of Canyon Defense, 7-4

For Canyon High baseball Coach Scott Willis it was “just one of those days.”

The Cowboys, who had committed only one error in their two previous games, made eight Wednesday and visiting Notre Dame took full advantage in a 7-4 victory in a Westside tournament game that was called in the seventh inning because of darkness.

Seven Canyon players committed fielding errors and a relief pitcher threw back-to-back wild pitches that allowed two runs to score. It was an error epidemic that struck every Canyon starter except third baseman Steve Bench and right fielder Ken Moody.

“I don’t know why they all came on the same day,” Willis said.

Notre Dame (2-1) scored its first two runs in the third inning on four errors.

Jim Landress, who led off the inning, reached first when second baseman Chad Engbrecht misplayed a ground ball. Cesar Martinez followed with a easy pop fly to shallow right-center, but center fielder Josh Malneck could not keep the ball in his glove.

Things quickly got worse.

On the first pitch to Jasen McConaghy, Landress took off for third. Although catcher Chuck Schuster’s throw was in plenty of time, it was off target and in the dirt and Bench never got a glove on it.

For that matter, neither did the left fielder, Adam Vance, who was in position to back up the throw. The ball kept moving--untouched by any player--down the left-field line and both Landress and Martinez scored.

Notre Dame made it 4-0 in the fourth when Cowboy reliever Sean Connelly uncorked back-to-back wild pitches, allowing Cesar Hernandez and Francisco Dongo to score.

In the fifth, Hernandez singled to drive in two more runs as part of a three-run uprising that gave the Knights a 7-0 lead.

Canyon rallied in the fifth, turning three walks and a pair of singles into three runs to make it 7-3. The Cowboys added another run in the sixth on a fielder’s choice grounder that scored Malneck.

Notre Dame’s Chris Garza (2-0) had control problems throughout his four-inning stint. Garza, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound junior right-hander, threw 92 pitches, walking seven and striking out seven.

Garza and relievers Jabbar Craigwell and Mike Smith combined to issue 10 walks in six innings, but a near-perfect defense kept the Cowboys at bay.

“Our defense has been stellar,” Notre Dame Coach Bob Mandeville said. “That’s really helping us.”

Apparently, so are the opponents’ shortcomings.