Pulling Ace Helps Push Crespi Past Notre Dame

Scott Muckey doesn’t go fishing too often but he sure knows how to pull the hook at the right time.

Determined not to let a lead slip away, the Crespi High baseball coach went to the mound with one out in the fifth inning Tuesday of a first-place Mission League showdown with Notre Dame.

Muckey took the ball away from his No. 1 pitcher, Marshall Plouffe.

“I was pretty mad,” Plouffe said. “I wanted to stay.”

That’s why Muckey gets the big bucks. In came reliever Clint Kofmehl, who pitched 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief to help the Celts defeat Notre Dame, 4-2, at Valley College.

“I was a little shocked at first, but you have to respect Coach Muckey,” catcher Matt Wilson said.

Crespi (8-0-1, 4-0-1 in league) was clinging to a 3-2 lead. Plouffe was falling behind in the count and having trouble getting his curveball over for strikes.

Kofmehl was supposed to start Friday against Notre Dame (6-4, 4-1) but Muckey didn’t care. This was Notre Dame, and he was going to do anything to get a victory.

“We had to go after this one,” Muckey said. “A split would give us a lot trouble.”

Kofmehl (3-0), a senior right-hander who has given up two earned runs in 19 2/3 innings, walked two batters in the seventh on 3-and-2 counts.

But he got Notre Dame’s leading hitter, Brendan Ryan, to ground out for the final out.

“It was going to come back in our face if Clint didn’t come out and throw 10 strikes in a row,” Muckey said.

“I would have liked to have a radar gun on Clint because he brought a few at the end. I’ve never seen him throw that hard. It looked 90 mph.”

Maybe Kofmehl was excited about facing his long-time friends, some of whom he’s known since grammar school.

Plouffe and Kofmehl survived because they were able to neutralize Ryan, who came in with a .577 batting average but went hitless in four at-bats.

“I’ve had him for three years and he comes through every time,” Coach Tom Dill said of Ryan. “They pitched him well because he’s a tough out.”

Wilson contributed a two-run single in the first and a run-scoring single in the fifth.

He was batting only .217 and struck out three consecutive times earlier this season against St. Francis. But lots of extra batting practice had his confidence peaking.

“It feels like I’ve found it again,” Wilson said.

Another major contributor for the Celts was shortstop Dale Legaspi. He took away two potential hits in the sixth by fielding difficult ground balls. He also had two hits.

Notre Dame was hurt by the absence of left fielder James Rivero, who was forced to miss the game after being ejected Friday against Chaminade.

The first-inning fly ball hit by Wilson might have been caught by Rivero.