Gavigan’s grand slam leads East Bay to late victory
By Brandon Wright, Features Writer
RIVERVIEW – East Bay had its backs against the wall entering the final inning. The visiting Indians just gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth against Riverview and were three outs away from defeat.
How does a seven spot sound?
The Indians blew up for a crooked number in their final at bat, punctuated by a Connor Gavigan grand slam, as East Bay came back to beat host Riverview 7-2 Tuesday night.
“As soon as that ball hit the bat I knew it was gone,” East Bay coach Rowland Ruiz said of Gavigan’s blast. “He can backspin a baseball to the pull side with the best of them. And he’s only a 10th grader.
East Bay (6-5) sent 13 batters to the plate in the seventh. Seven of the first eight Indians scored, propelling East Bay to its fifth-consecutive win. The loss marked the Sharks fifth-straight.
“I told the guys we need to pass the baton,” Ruiz said. “We needed to set the table for the top of our order and that’s exactly what the bottom did. One guy can’t do it alone for us. We were very resilient tonight.”
Trailing 2-0, East Bay loaded the bases with one out in the seventh. Derek Gutierrez then drew a walk to bring home a run and Johnathan Bryant (2-for-3) beat the throw home on a grounder to the drawn-in infield to tie the game.
Gavigan untied it with one swing.
The sophomore right fielder hit a moon shot deep to left centerfield off reliever Xavier Gonzalez, who had just been called in for starter Driston Marino, sending the East Bay bench into a frenzy.
“I’m going to be completely honest, my approach right there was to hit a home run,” Gavigan said. “(The pitch) was about belt high. All I had to do was wait back and smash.”
Ethan Cunningham (3-for-4) capped off the inning with an RBI single, and Cameron Cook recorded the final three outs to pick up the win in relief.
“Yeah, I think some guys were getting a little frustrated,” Gavigan said of the first scoreless six innings of at bats. “But it’s a matter of composing yourself and getting back out there.”
East Bay starter JJ Groover held Riverview in check for most of the night, scattering six hits and striking out seven in five innings. Groover walked the leadoff man to open the sixth and gave way to Cook. The junior righty allowed a hit, then fielded a bunt and misfired to first, sending the ball down the rightfield line to make it 2-0 Indians.
“This is a big rivalry game for us, there was a lot of adrenaline and I was ready to go from last week,” Groover said. “The boys were hungry.”
Kaden Hess recorded three hits for the Sharks and teammate Jan Carlos Rodriguez added a pair.
The night also featured some sparkling defense from both teams. Ryan Butner made a tremendous running catch while crashing into the centerfield wall, Hess caught a diving liner at first and the Sharks (5-7) turned a pair of double plays. Meanwhile, Indians’ centerfielder Rory Beauford Jr. cut down a runner at home on a perfect one-hop throw to keep the game scoreless in the third.
Gavigan said the Indians, who dropped four straight open the season, are right where they need to be heading into a stingy Thursday matchup with Gaither as the Saladino Tournament looms this weekend.
“We have really good momentum and a little win streak going,” he said. “Gaither is definitely going to be one of the better teams we face all season, so it’s just a matter of locking in and we’ll see who wants it more.”
⚾
East Bay 7
Riverview 2
E 000|000|7 – |7|7|2
R 000|002|0 – |2|6|1
W – Cook (4-0); L – Marino (1-4)
2B – Reyes (E); Schultz (R); HR – Gavigan (E). Records – E (6-5); R (5-7).
