Bounce back with two-hit shutout
PASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles baseball team hosted the Morro Bay Pirates on Saturday night and dropped their first game of the season 11-2 as their bats were finally cooled off following a 5-0 start. Tuesday night, the Bearcats bounced back with solid performances both behind the plate and on the field, defeating Bakersfield Christian 3-0 at home.
It was a cold and windy night on Saturday at Barnhart Field, but there was an excitement in the small crowd allowed into the stadium as it was the first game back for senior Jakob Wright, who is committed to playing baseball for the Cal Poly Mustangs once he graduates in the spring. Wright was yet to pitch this season as he dealt with some lower-body injuries to start the year. The left-handed fireballer took the mound but had trouble locating his fastball, which in turn affected all of his pitches.
While Wright had a tough time finding the strike zone, the Pirates could still not catch up to his heater but took their walks which put them ahead early. Even though Morro Bay was able to score five runs in the first inning, no one had the Bearcats written off as they had outscored their opponents 46-15 in the first five games of the season. Saturday night just seemed to be Morro Bay’s night, as is sometimes the case in baseball.
After seven innings, the Bearcats only recorded two runs on two hits—each of the hits coming from a senior, one from Wright, and one from Chase Stratman.
Tuesday night, the Bearcats were back out on the field, this time taking on Bakersfield Christian, and bounced back to their old form as juniors Carson Turnquist and Anthony Garcia combined for a two-hit shutout at Barnhart Field.
Turnquist, who has been the Bearcats ace so far in the young season, dazzled on the mound, pitching five innings of one-hit ball while also striking out eight and only walking a single batter. Following his magnificent performance, Garcia came on to close things out, pitching two innings, also giving up just a single hit and striking out one.
Offensively Paso Robles recorded seven total hits but none more significant than junior Bryson Hoier’s two-run bomb to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning that extended the Bearcats lead from 1-0 to 3-0. Haier would finish the game 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Wright and Stratman once again led the team in hits, each going 2-for-3 on the evening.
Maxpreps.com currently has the Bearcats baseball team ranked inside the top 10 in Division 1 of the Central Section. Paso Robles presently holds the no. 8 spot overall, San Joaquin Memorial and Buchanan have the top two spots, both with a record of 7-1.
Paso Robles will play their final tune-up game this Saturday against Carmel before they start their Mountain League season on Wednesday. The Bearcats will begin Mountain League play with a series against the San Luis Obispo Tigers, followed by the St. Joseph Knights and Atascadero Greyhounds.
