Legends Patient at the Plate in Bounceback Victory
Written By: Jacob Siegel
After the Bay Area Bombers tied the game 3-3 after the third inning, the Menlo Park Legends knew they needed to put up some runs to regain the lead. They did just that in the top of the 4th, scoring six runs off two pitchers, on the back of three hits and four walks. Bombers pitchers threw 46 pitches in the inning, with only 46% resulting in strikes. The Legends took advantage of this lack of control with the four walks, capping the rally with a two-run double from Jacob Froess. After finishing the 4th with a 9-3 lead, the Legends kept the Bombers at arm’s length the remainder of the game en route to a 12-6 victory.
The Legends came out of the gates quick, with the first four batters all reaching base. Ryan Farr walked as the cleanup hitter, the first of 15 walks on the day for the Legends, including three each from Farr and Antonio Nanez. After a Danny Peters sacrifice fly scored Nick Thomson, they held a 2-0 lead. After giving up an unearned run in the top of the first, Zak Sullivan threw a strong second inning. A Nanez single brought home Thomson again, giving the Legends a 3-1 lead. After Sullivan got into some trouble in the 3rd, Cole Dixon came in to help stop the bleeding, with nice plays from Nanez and Noah Zertuche keeping the score at 3-3.
After the Legends’ big inning in the top of the 4th, stellar defense shut down the Bombers in the bottom of the inning, with Nanez starting a 5-3 double play to Peters and Ethan Payne throwing out a runner on the basepaths. Peters picked up another RBI in the 5th, scoring Zertuche again with a single. Froess then scored Farr with a groundout, one of four runs batted in on the day for him. He again doubled in the 7th, this time scoring Jackson Snitko.
On the mound, the Legends bullpen was dominant for the middle part of the game. Dixon allowed only one run over his three strong innings of work. Fareed Ahmed and Mickey Radanovich were nails after that, facing the minimum nine batters over their combined three innings of work. Ahmed struck out five in his two innings, while Radanovich struck out two in the 8th.
After closing it out in the 9th for a 12-6 victory, the Legends moved to 3-3 on the year. They are back in action on Wednesday at 4:30 PM facing off against the Vacaville Admirals at Will C Wood High School.
Stars of the Game:
⭐ Antonio Nanez: 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB
⭐️⭐️ Fareed Ahmed: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
⭐️⭐️⭐ Jacob Froess: 2-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB
