Bats come alive in Colton’s first win of the season
A five-run second inning is the tip of the iceberg in Colton’s 14-4 victory over the visiting San Bernardino Cardinals
Azael Hernandez pounds an RBI double in the first inning of Colton’s 14-4 victory over San Bernardino.
Colton, CA—Andy Navarrete pitched a complete game, and Andrew Montes went 3-for-3 with 4 runs batted in as Colton’s bats finally woke up and they crushed the visiting San Bernardino Cardinals 14-4 for their first win of the season.
Coming into this game, Colton was trying to shake off a rough first week of the season in which they went 0-4 and only put up 14 total runs. They did just that, matching their cumulative total for the season in four productive innings.
“It feels nice,” Andy Navarrete said about this first victory. “We could have had more, but there’s still like 20 more games left. Hopefully we get straight wins.”
Besides Montes’ big game, Azael Hernandez hit 3-for-4 with two doubles and 3 RBIs. And Julian Rocha, pinch hitting in the fourth, hit a 3-run double that secured the victory for the Yellowjackets via CIF mercy rules.
In CIF baseball, the “mercy rule” ends a game after 5 complete innings if a team is ahead by 10 or more runs.
Colton looked to exert their will on this game from the first inning. After a 1-2-3 top of the first, the Yellowjackets came out aggressive in the bottom. Both Navarrete and Montes stole bases, and Hernandez brought in Montes on his first RBI double.
After another scoreless inning for Navarrete, the Yellowjackets blew the game open with a 5 run second inning. Montes and Hernandez hit back-to-back RBI doubles, then Isaac Bustillos added another run when he scored Hernandez on a triple to left field.
San Bernardino fought back with a four run fourth as Navarrete struggled a little during his second trip through the Cardinal lineup. In the bottom of the inning, Colton got it all back, and then some, adding six more runs.
After the game, Andrew Montes remained focused on the work ahead and his role with the team. “I’m just working on my hitting, just going home and just swinging off the tee, trying to stay consistent. My goal is just to back up the pitcher to score some runs.”
Tomorrow, the Yellowjackets will work to produce more runs as they travel to Palm Desert High to face the 1-2 Aztecs. Game time is 4:00 p.m.
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Jeremiah Dollins is in his third year as adviser for the award-winning Pepper Bough, Colton High School’s official source of news and entertainment....
