Vigilantes Knock Out the Crushers

It took the Vigilantes five games and eight innings to figure out how to defeat Sonoma County. But on Sunday the Vigilantes--in particular Sam Taylor--came through in grand fashion.

Taylor drove in five runs, four coming on a two-out grand slam to push the Vigilantes past the Crushers, 8-7, in front of an announced crowd of 1,947 at Saddleback College.

The victory ended the Vigilantes’ six-game losing streak, which included the last five games this week to Sonoma County. The teams finish their seven game series tonight.

“That gorilla we got off our backs today was huge,” said Taylor, who has 31 runs batted in, second on the team to Alan Burke.

“This [losing streak] has been hard on us mentally. Having been on a winning team the last two years, it’s been a different atmosphere this year. And it’s one neither I nor the other guys want to get used to.”

Taylor’s drive off Crushers reliever Kris Frank (2-1) traveled an estimated 370 feet and was his 10th home run. It was also the first grand slam by a Vigilante this season.

But a couple of other things had to happen before Taylor was in position for his late heroics.

The Vigilantes (16-24) first had to survive the haymaker Sonoma County slugged them with in the first inning.

The Crushers (27-13)--who have already wrapped up the first-half title in the South Division of the Western Baseball League--roasted Mission Viejo starter Don Ehler for five first-inning runs as the first seven batters got hits. A key blow was the two-run homer by Carter Masterson, his fifth.

If the Vigilantes’ bullpen had not been used so much the past two games, Ehler probably would not have lasted the opening inning.

“That’s true,” acting manager Brad Lesley said. “My bullpen was cooked. All I had today was Scott Singleton, and Steve Ceterko if the game was close.”

Ehler gutted out three more innings, giving up two more runs and three hits, one of them a home run by Todd Pridy, his 11th, in the fourth.

But Singleton (3-5) gave Mission Viejo a chance to catch up by pitching four scoreless innings of relief, giving up only four hits. He walked one and struck out two.

“Our unlikely hero,” Lesley said of Singleton. “And also our defense. Even when we were trailing, 7-1, we didn’t let down.”

Chad Zerbe started for Sonoma County, and was breezing along with a 7-2 lead until the sixth, when the Vigilantes strung four two-out hits to cut the deficit to three.

Then came the eighth. Zerbe again got two outs, but gave up a single to Dustin Martin and walked Chris Ashbach, who had a career high four-hit day.

Frank was summoned from the Crushers bullpen. He walked Sean Drinkwater then nearly got whiplash trying to follow the flight of Taylor’s blast.

“Sonoma is not a fluke team,” Taylor said. “They are good. But I felt we’ve had a chance to win every game against them this week, and often times we beat ourselves by making mistakes or not getting the key hit.”

For one Sunday, at least, the Vigilantes got it right.