Vigilantes Run Out of Late Luck

The Vigilantes came within a couple of feet of pulling off a second consecutive ninth-inning rally but instead suffered a frustrating, 10-9, loss to Salinas in a Western Baseball League game Wednesday at Saddleback College.

Many of the announced crowd of 1,944 left early, ushered out because Salinas scored seven runs in the fourth inning to open a 9-4 lead.

The lead was 10-5 to start the ninth, but the Vigilantes had four runs home and the tying run at third with one out and a familiar combination ready to try to get the tying run across.

Willie Mosher, who had the game-tying single in Tuesday’s 9-8 victory, was at bat and Dustin Martin, who scored the tying run in Tuesday’s game, was at third.

Mosher hit a sharp liner to medium right field where Steve Hosey made the catch and then a strong one-bounce throw to catcher Bodie Shepherd, who tagged Martin for a double play to end the game.

Martin had started toward the plate when the ball was hit. He had to go back and tag up, losing at least a step or two.

“As soon as he released it,” Salinas reliever Gabe Sollecito said, “I started pumping my fist. I knew we would get him. I was backing up home and had the best view in the house.”

It was a throwing error by Sollecito that had helped the Vigilantes get close in the first place.

Sam Taylor and Alan Burke opened the inning with doubles and Bret Barberie singled home Burke to cut the lead to 10-7.

Carl Nichols singled and he and Barberie moved up on Corey Parker’s ground out to second. Sollecito got Chris Briones to break his bat and hit a weak grounder back to him.

Sollecito looked at Barberie who had stopped halfway to the plate then turned and threw well over the head of first baseman Kraig Constantino. Both runners scored and Briones raced to third, bringing pinch hitter Mosher to the plate.

The victory gave Salinas (2-2 in the second half) a split of the four-game series and sends the Vigilantes (2-2) on the road, where they are 5-18 this season, for a nine-game trip that starts Friday in Bend, Ore.

Notes

Eric Brooks, who broke his right thumb sliding into second base in an attempt to break up a double play in Tuesday’s game, will be in a cast for about two weeks. Brooks, who is hitting .299 with 21 runs batted in, will go on the disabled list. Carl Nichols and Mike Cowell are expected to handle most of the catching while Brooks is sidelined.