A six-run third inning and a complete-game effort from Mason Crang lifted San Marcos baseball to a 6-3 win over crosstown rival Dos Pueblos on Friday at Joe Mueller Field in Santa Barbara.
The Royals (8-5, 6-2 Channel League) completed the series sweep of the Chargers (12-5, 5-3 CL) with the victory and, with Pacifica’s loss to Rio Mesa, claimed sole possession of first place in the league heading into Spring Break.
“It just shows our development and our maturing,” San Marcos head coach Richard Schroeder said of his team’s standing heading into the break. “We knew we could do it, and we just started making sure we did the little things. All those little things add up, and that’s what makes you good.
“We just narrowed it down: we play catch, we take a pitch at a time, and we win an at bat at a time. That’s as far ahead of ourselves as we get.”
Despite dropping back-to-back games with their crosstown rivals, Charger head coach George Hedricks is confident in his squad near the midway point of the league season. Dos Pueblos is tied for second place with Pacifica.
“I think that if we had come in today and just rolled over and not played well, I’d not be feeling so good about going into spring break right now,” Hedricks said. “I thought our energy was good. I thought our demeanor after the game was good. I think our guys carried themselves well.
“I think they’re going to do the right things over break. We want to practice, we want to get better, and we’re going to that tournament, and hopefully get a chance to work on some stuff before we get in the back half of the league.”
The first frame went scoreless, with San Marcos’ Mason Crang striking out two in a quick 1-2-3 inning and Dos Pueblos’ Jameson Barth stranding the bases loaded by striking out the side.
The second inning went similarly, with Crang setting down the side in order before the Royals threatened, but Barth stranded two runs in scoring position to keep the 0-0 tie.
Crang then hurled another scoreless half, and the San Marcos offense erupted in the bottom of the third, batting around and plating six runs.
A hit batter and back-to-back walks loaded the bases for the Royals, but a Barth strikeout made it a two-out situation. David Burkholder then came through, punching a single up the middle to score two runs and take a 2-0 lead.
After two more walks loaded the bases and brought a run in, Levi Monson blasted a bases-clearing double into the left-centerfield gap to balloon the lead to 6-0.
“David, this was his 1st game in the outfield this year. He hit well on Tuesday when he pitched, so I said let’s see if we can keep that going,” Schroeder said. “Levi’s been good all year. You could easily underestimate him. He’s a very, very good athlete and a very, very good baseball player.”
The San Marcos offense took advantage of nine free passes in the first three innings, which finally resulted in the big inning after being held without a big hit in the first two frames.
“They go up there, and it’s unselfish,” Schoreder said of his team’s approach. “They’ll take a pitch they might be able to hit, but they’ll make the guy keep throwing stuff, and eventually, it worked out.
“We let them off the hook for a little bit, but we knew we were going to get them. That’s the thing. We know now, and that’s the difference between a good team and a great team.”
The Chargers got two of those runs back in the top of the fourth, both coming as a result of San Marcos defensive miscues.
Matti Di Maggio’s leadoff double was followed by a bunt from Stone Saunders, which was fielded and thrown into right field to allow Di Maggio to come all the way around to score.
A few pitches later, a passed ball allowed Saunders to scamper in and cut the deficit down to 6-2. Crang retired the next two batters to keep the score there.
That score held until the seventh inning, as Crang continued to roll and Dos Pueblos’ Logan Pearce, who came in to face Monson in the third, found his groove and kept his team in the game. Pearce tossed 3 ⅓ innings without allowing an earned run and surrendering just two hits.
“I thought it said a lot more about [Pearce] that [Monson’s double] was all they got. He pretty much settled down after that,” Hedricks said. “High school kids give up a hit like that and they can implode and go a whole different direction. That’s not Logan. He’s very mature for his age, and it didn’t rattle him.
“He went out there and just kept pumping strikes in the zone, and [SM] is not a team that’s going to strike out a ton. They’re gonna put the ball in play, but if we can get them to get themselves out, we can stay in the game. That’s what he did.”
Still trailing 6-2 in the top of the seventh, the Chargers did not go away quietly. A one-out RBI sacrifice fly by Spencer Holtz trimmed the deficit to 6-3, but brought Dos Pueblos down to its last out.
Evan Bean then got on via an infield single, and Jason Holtz walked to load the bases and bring the go-ahead run to the plate. However, Crang buckled down and got the next batter to ground out to clinch the win and finish off his complete game.
“I get a call from Mason around noon and he’s sick. He woke up this morning feeling terrible, and for him to throw a complete game, are you kidding me?” Schroeder said. “It looked like everything was working. He was getting ahead of guys, and he was staying within himself.”
Both the Royals and Chargers will compete in out-of-town Spring Break tournaments next week before turning to their Channel League schedules in April.