Photo by Kirk Barron
Pierce High catcher Hayden Kalfsbeek catches the ball before applying the tag to Williams' Korey Steinke (18) in the top of the second inning of the Bears' 15-2 home victory on Tuesday.
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Pierce picks on Williams for home win
Friday, Mar 2 2012, 11:15 am
The Pierce High baseball team braved the frigid wind to open the spring sports season with a 15-2 home victory against Williams on Tuesday.
Despite the bone-chilling wind, the Bears bats stayed hot enough to reach the 10-run threshold by the fifth inning.
Pierce second baseman Chris Tapia began his senior baseball season with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with two doubles and three RBIs, and senior shortstop Taylor Cabral added two doubles, drove in two runs, scored twice and stole a base from the leadoff spot.
While the seniors went to work with the bats, two freshman pitchers - Jake Voorhees and Dalton Sax - shut the Yellowjackets out through the first four innings.
"We have some talent if our pitching comes along. I've got a couple of good young freshmen, lots of kids that can pitch but no real dominant kid yet," Pierce coach Roy Perkins said.
Voorhees pitched a flawless first inning and escaped trouble in the second when Williams catcher Korey Steinke doubled to lead off the inning but was thrown out trying to score after an error by Cabral.
Williams starting pitcher Ben Mayes kept his team in the game despite allowing four unearned runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out three in two innings of work.
"They're better than they've been, they fielded the ball well today. We hit some balls on the ground to them and they make the plays now. It's just they didn't hit the ball as well as they might a little bit later, but they're catching the ball and they've improved over where they've been the last couple years," Perkins said.
Voorhees gave way to freshman Sax after striking out three in two innings. Sax struck out the side in his first inning of varsity ball and got out of a runners at the corners jam in the fourth inning with his sixth strikeout.
The Bears added two more runs in the third but didn't pull away until scoring nine runs in the bottom of the fourth. Voorhees, Cabral and Hayden Kalfsbeek each doubled in the fourth and Tapia doubled twice in the inning.
The Yellowjackets escaped a shutout in the top of the fifth when Max Santos reached on an error, stole third base and scored on a passed ball.
Later in the inning, Brandon Duong walked, Erik Knight moved him to third base with a single to right field and Ben Mayes hit an RBI single.
"We definitely have a lot of inexperienced guys, we have three guys that played last year. I was actually encouraged by a lot of the things I saw today," Williams coach Travis Hayes said.
Freshman first baseman Alfredo Velasquez turned an unassisted double play in the first inning and the rest of the infield played well at times despite committing five errors as a team.
CONTACT Kirk Barron at 458-2121 or kbarron@tcnpress.com
Despite the bone-chilling wind, the Bears bats stayed hot enough to reach the 10-run threshold by the fifth inning.
Pierce second baseman Chris Tapia began his senior baseball season with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with two doubles and three RBIs, and senior shortstop Taylor Cabral added two doubles, drove in two runs, scored twice and stole a base from the leadoff spot.
While the seniors went to work with the bats, two freshman pitchers - Jake Voorhees and Dalton Sax - shut the Yellowjackets out through the first four innings.
"We have some talent if our pitching comes along. I've got a couple of good young freshmen, lots of kids that can pitch but no real dominant kid yet," Pierce coach Roy Perkins said.
Voorhees pitched a flawless first inning and escaped trouble in the second when Williams catcher Korey Steinke doubled to lead off the inning but was thrown out trying to score after an error by Cabral.
Williams starting pitcher Ben Mayes kept his team in the game despite allowing four unearned runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out three in two innings of work.
"They're better than they've been, they fielded the ball well today. We hit some balls on the ground to them and they make the plays now. It's just they didn't hit the ball as well as they might a little bit later, but they're catching the ball and they've improved over where they've been the last couple years," Perkins said.
Voorhees gave way to freshman Sax after striking out three in two innings. Sax struck out the side in his first inning of varsity ball and got out of a runners at the corners jam in the fourth inning with his sixth strikeout.
The Bears added two more runs in the third but didn't pull away until scoring nine runs in the bottom of the fourth. Voorhees, Cabral and Hayden Kalfsbeek each doubled in the fourth and Tapia doubled twice in the inning.
The Yellowjackets escaped a shutout in the top of the fifth when Max Santos reached on an error, stole third base and scored on a passed ball.
Later in the inning, Brandon Duong walked, Erik Knight moved him to third base with a single to right field and Ben Mayes hit an RBI single.
"We definitely have a lot of inexperienced guys, we have three guys that played last year. I was actually encouraged by a lot of the things I saw today," Williams coach Travis Hayes said.
Freshman first baseman Alfredo Velasquez turned an unassisted double play in the first inning and the rest of the infield played well at times despite committing five errors as a team.
CONTACT Kirk Barron at 458-2121 or kbarron@tcnpress.com
