Three-Run 7th Pushes Legends Past Rounders
Cupertino, Calif. – Following the end of their five game winning streak, it was interesting to see how the Legends would respond against a non-conference foe in the San Mateo Rounders. Having beaten them handily on Opening Day, it was a much closer affair this time around. The Legends needed a three-run seventh inning, highlighted by a Nick Brooks homerun, to get past the Rounders and hang on for a 5-4 victory. In what goes into the books as a neutral-site game for both teams, the Legends improve to 8-2 this summer while the Rounders fall to 3-4.
Menlo Park got on the board first after Scott Ota drove home a run with a single in the bottom of the third inning. Unfortunately for the Legends, they could not tack on more runs as they left the bases loaded in both the first and third innings. The lead would not last long as the Rounders got on the board and pulled ahead with three runs in the fourth. Kevin Hahn was on the mound for Menlo Park and pitched great with the exception of the fourth inning, though the defense didn’t help him out much. He allowed two hits and a walk to open up the inning, but two subsequent errors allowed a pair of runs to score. As a whole, Hahn went five innings, allowed four hits, just one earned run, one walk, and two strikeouts.
Assistant Coach Sean McMillan was forced into the starting lineup after the Legends wanted to give catcher Tyler Nelin the day off. McMillan got the start behind the dish and drove home a run on a single in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 3-2 game. The score would hold at a one-run game until the bottom of the seventh when Nick Brooks led off and wasted little time driving a pitch to straightaway centerfield for a solo homerun to tie the game. It was the first homerun of the summer for Nick Brooks and it could not have come at a better time. After an Ota walk and an RJ Williams walk, Ryan McCarthy hit a groundball to the Rounders’ second baseman who let it go under his glove and Ota came in to give the Legends the lead. Clayton Casey followed that with a sacrifice fly to right field for his first RBI as a Legend and the score was 5-3 in favor of the home team.
Matt Bergandi allowed a run in the top of the eighth but worked his way out of a first and third, one out situation to keep the Legends in front. Calvin Riley pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save, and the win went to Jake Swiech who retired all six hitters he faced in the sixth and seventh. Menlo Park returns home for their final home game at Canada College until June 23 on Thursday when the host the Pacific Union Financial Capitalists. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 PM, and if you can’t catch the game at the yard, make sure to catch the live broadcast on the Legends Radio Network.
