By Alyssa Zucker
Staff Writer
After the suspension of coach Cassidy Olson was lifted, the Mira Costa baseball team welcomed him back with a win against Westchester High School.
Coming off an extra-inning loss to John W. North High School, the Mustangs rebounded with a 2-1 win over Westchester on Tuesday at Mira Costa.
“It was relieving to have our head coach back,” junior second baseman Mateo Nieto said. “It was nice to get a victory after all his time off.”
In the first two innings, neither team was able to score. In the third inning, with senior shortstop Jack Hadley on second base, senior center fielder Keyon Allen bunted Hadley over to third and beat the throw to at first, making Allen safe and securing runners on both first and third.
Senior catcher Austin Henning, who went 2-for-3 in at-bats with two runs batted in, had a base hit up the middle to score Hadley. Because player interference was called against Westchester senior shortstop Pernell Roberts Jr. between him and Allen, Allen was awarded an extra base, granting the Mustangs another run to add to their lead. The third inning ended at 2-0 in the Mustangs’ favor.
“It was pretty generous for the umpire to award [Allen] an extra base because the obstruction seemed accidental and did not seriously affect the play,” Hadley said. “We gladly took the run, though.”
The bottom of the fourth inning started off with Nieto and sophomore designated hitter Luke Jelmini on base. Niteo went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases while Jelmini went 1-for-2 in the game. However, both teams failed to score any runs in the bottom of the inning. In the top of the fifth inning, Westchester attempted to steal home due to a passed ball, but Henning was able to get the throw in time to senior pitcher Christian Reynolds to tag the runner out at home.
“Our overall effort on defense and pitching won the game for us,” Allen said. “We can always improve as a team, but overall it was a good game and a much-needed win for us.”
In the top of the seventh inning, with the bases loaded and only one out, senior pitcher Gordon Cardenas came in for Reynolds to close out the game for the Mustangs. The first batter Cardenas faced hit a sacrifice fly ball to Allen in center field, scoring Westchester’s one and only run in the game.
With two outs, the next batter hit a line drive back at Cardenas on the mound. Cardenas made the play, ending the game. The Mustangs came out on top with the 2-1 victory, improving the team’s overall season record to 8-5.
“I did not feel that much pressure,” Cardenas said. “I knew I had a job to do for my team, and I had to stay within myself and throw strikes.”
Reynolds pitched six and a third innings, allowed only six hits and one earned run while striking out nine batters in the Mustangs’ win over Westchester, earning him the victory.
“Reynolds pitched a great game,” Hadley said. “Our defense really backed him up. Once we get our offense going, we will be a tough team to beat.”
The Mustangs play their next game tomorrow against Fullerton High School in an away game as part of the Anaheim Lions Tournament.
“The kids played great against Westchester,” Olson said. “I am proud of the way they played.”
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