Legends Drop Crucial Conference Game to Prune Packers
Palo Alto, Calif. – Returning back to the Bay Area after their final road trip of the summer, the Menlo Park Legends were seeking to snap a four-game losing skid. Their opponent was a team they had not yet lost to this summer, the Healdsburg Prune Packers. This game had a lot riding on it as the winner would take over sole-possession of the Wild Card spot in the California Collegiate League Playoffs. Both teams entered just two games behind the first-place Neptune Beach Pearl with just one week of action remaining. After yet another thrilling conference game between the two teams, the Prune Packers got the best of Menlo Park with an RBI-single from Jamey Smart in the top of the ninth to win the game 6-5. The decisive win for Healdsburg puts them at 29-14 and 12-10 in conference games while the Legends fall to 23-16 and an even 10-10 in conference play.
Things didn’t get off to the best of starts for Menlo Park as they fell in a 4-0 hole after runs came across in the fourth and fifth for the Prune Packers. The first three that scored in the fourth all came home with two outs. Sean Watkins got the start for the Legends and he was on the mound with those two outs before allowing a triple to score a run, courtesy of Michael Russo. He scored on a wild pitch and the Prune Packers had doubled their lead. Just a few pitches later, Jacob MacNichols deposited a fastball over the left field wall and the Prune Packers were up by three. Watkins would allow two more hits in the inning before being pulled and relieved by Kevin Hahn. Hahn allowed one run in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly from Billy Wilson, and Healdsburg had a comfortable 4-0 lead at the halfway point.
The Legends got on the board against Healdsburg starter Justin Mullins in the sixth inning after Chandler Bengston walked to lead off and Miguel Pimental was hit just a few pitches later. With one out, Tyler Nelin hit a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Bengston. With two outs, Clayton Casey stepped up after having struck out his first two at bats. The author of this report commented how he could make it a one-run game. Do that he would. Casey ripped an off-speed pitch into left field for his fifth homerun of the summer, and made it a 4-3 game. That score would not stand long as Hahn allowed another run in the seventh after Smart tripled to right-center field. An interesting note from the game: Healdsburg hit four triples as part of their 16 hits.
The eighth inning is when the high-drama returned. With two outs and hope running low, Nick Brooks absolutely mashed a line drive to left field for a homerun. It was easily one of the longest and hardest hit homeruns of the summer and it was the sixth for Brooks. With the score 5-4, Ryan McCarthy was now up and he did the exact same thing Brooks did: crush a no-doubt homerun on a line. The second homerun of the summer for McCarthy made it a tie game and the Legends had all of the momentum on their side. Taking it to the ninth, Calvin Riley was still on the mound for his second full inning of work but got into trouble. Eli Orona tripled with one out and scored on the Smart single one batter later. The Legends tried to make it interesting in the ninth by placing two runners aboard, but Scott Ota lined out to the second baseman for the Prune Packers to end the game and deliver another heartbreaking loss to the Legends.
Menlo Park will look to get back to their winning ways on Wednesday as they take on the Walnut Creek Crawdads, who have lost 14 straight conference games. The game will be played at Baylands Athletic Center at 5:00 PM and will be broadcasted live on the Legends Radio Network.
