The Kennedy High baseball team rallied from a 5-2 deficit to defeat Western High, 6-5 and complete a two-game sweep of the Pioneers on Friday April 15 .
The Fighting Irish improved to 2-0 in league play, tied with Cypress and Pacifica for the early lead in the race. Kennedy had blanked Western, 3-0, on Wednesday to open Empire League play. But on Friday, Western scored a run in the first and four in the third to eventually take a 5-2 lead into the fifth inning.
But the Fighting Irish would rally in the bottom of the fifth, aided by a couple of Western mistakes. With one out, Jared Velez drew a walk and Ray Villanueva followed with a single.
On the following play, Western second baseman Raul Gonzalez robbed the Fighting Irish of a hit on a shallow fly ball just inside the right field line. But the ball was deep enough for the runners to tag up and when the Pioneers tried to relay the ball to third base, the throw got away and Velez scored to cut the lead to 5-3.
Villanueva scored on a double by Austin Criss to cut the lead to 5-4. Pinch runner Marco Ramos advanced to third on a passed ball. Ramos would score the tying run on a single by James Allen. Allen had a pop up to foul territory that was misplayed, which kept him alive to single in the tying run.
Allen would take second on a passed ball, then break for third on another misplayed pitch. The pickoff attempt to third got away and Allen sprinted home for the go-ahead run.
Velez would come on to pitch in the top of the sixth inning and would set the Pioneers down in order, with two strikeouts and a pop fly to right field. He would also pitch the seventh, getting a strikeout and soft liner to second base from the first two batters. After a single, right fielder Jimmy Decarli made a diving catch on a fly ball in foul territory to end the game.
The Fighting Irish improved to 12-6 and 2-0 in league play, yet coach Conrad Colby said they are still moving players around to try and find the optimal lineup. The plus side is that they are finding a lot of versatility on the roster.
“I think we have a lot of guys we’re confident putting anywhere in the lineup,” Colby said.
The Fighting Irish are tied with Pacifica and Cypress for the early lead. Colby said he expects his team to stay competitive in the solid league. Cypress has been the team to beat in recent years, but Colby expects a tough road all through league play.
“The Empire League is tough, there’s no question about it,” Colby said.