Linares, Hernandez lead Gaither’s region opener win
Throwing five different pitches for strikes, Gaither starter Anthony Linares battled through six shutout innings for the victory, striking out seven.
By Chuck Frye, Senior Staff Writer
EAST LAKE – In his entire coaching career, Nelson North has had one overriding credo: Play the game the right way.
Spend time around the Gaither players during a game and you’ll see and hear the difference. No cat calls toward the other team, no swearing, constantly talking game situations among each other, and above all else, playing hard in every aspect. Sticking to the true spirit of the game stood the visiting Cowboys well in a 3-0, Class 6A-Region 3 quarterfinal opening victory over East Lake.
The first base umpire lets Jackson Mirza know he’s safe after East Lake’s first-inning pickoff attempt.
When the Eagles (19-8) applied pressure on starting pitcher Anthony Linares in the first three innings, getting multiple base runners on in each frame, the senior refused to get rattled.
“As a pitcher, I have to stay fearless out there,” the four-year starter explained. “I just had to keep pounding the strike zone, eventually (the East Lake batters) will fall behind and we’ll get that strikeout.”
East Lake starter Camden Boehm battled through shaky defense behind him, allowing one earned run in his five innings of work.
Linares did just that to close out the first inning after counterpart Camden Boehm and cleanup hitter Eli Millian got on base. A pair of popups stranded Brayden Spink (reached on error) and Jackson Palmer (single) in the second, while Cowboys catcher Ryder Warriner turned a potential wild pitch into an inning-ending caught stealing in the third.
“We wanted to keep the pitch count low,” said Linares, who finished his six-shutout innings with seven strikeouts, scattering six hits with just one walk. “We wanted to keep them off-balance, make them hit grounders, and get quick innings. I threw a lot of curveballs, mixed in some change-ups later on, then worked in my slider, but I usually kept them off with that overhand/underhand curveball.”
Eagles’ shortstop Andrew Sheffield draws a bead on Angel Hernandez’ first-inning popup.
“Ant’s been good all year,” North said. “He threw a no-hitter against Jefferson, beat Sickles pretty handily, that’s what he does. In all honesty, I’ve seen him have only two bad innings since he’s been here at Gaither. He’s a very effective pitcher and his mental toughness is off the charts.”
Conversely, when opportunities came for Gaither to turn up its own heat, especially in a game-defining fourth inning, the Eagles cracked.
Gliding into shallow leftfield, Gaither shortstop Ryan Deak reaches up to pull in a second-inning popup.
A perpetual motion machine in the form of second baseman Angel Hernandez was the main instigator of East Lake’s meltdown.
After making a superb diving stop of a third-inning grounder ticketed for rightfield, Hernandez led off the fourth with a towering popup behind first base. Digging past first as Eagles’ defenders debated who would make the play, the senior sprinted to second as the ball fell harmlessly to the ground.
Cowboys baserunner Jeffery Cavicci looks to his base coach while rounding third in the third inning …
⚾
… but a perfect relay to third baseman Jackson Palmer caught the senior straying too far from the bag.
After Linares moved him over the third, Albert Antinori tested a drawn-in infield and an error occurred to bring Hernandez home. An out-of-the-box, two-out bunt from Ryan Deak followed that not only became an infield single, but forced an errant throw that brought a sprinting Antinori all the way around from first.
“We practice it all the time, our coaches telling us to hustle,” Hernandez said. “It’s experience, too. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Bookended by centerfielder Eddy Rojo (left) and second baseman Angel Hernandez, Gaither rightfielder S.J. Branham hustles in to corral a fourth-inning popup.
After singling in the fifth, Hernandez got one more chance to light up the base paths when he walked with two outs in the top of the seventh. He stole second and third before Linares was hit by a pitch, then eased home when Antinori hit a flair to centerfield for an RBI single.
“I was seeing the pitcher’s front foot, reading it when he committed to the plate,” Hernandez explained.
Cowboys second baseman Angel Hernandez looks in a sixth-inning fly ball from East Lake’s Drew Gerber.
“Angel’s a gritty ball player,” North said. “He’s an aggressive hitter that doesn’t get cheated too often. He gets big hits and he makes things happen. Bottom line: he plays hard every game, every practice, every day.”
With a key insurance run in his back pocket, junior Carter Kindberg worked the seventh, yielding a harmless single to No. 9 hitter Daniel Hill before an infield grounder closed out the win. Hill was the eighth batter in the Eagles’ lineup to reach base but none would cross the plate.
Gaither starting Anthony Linares proudly taps himself on the chest after his seventh and final strikeout ended the sixth inning and his stint on the mound.
The only downside for the now 19-8 Cowboys came when leadoff batter Jackson Mirza was hit on his throwing wrist with a pitch to start the contest. He stayed in the game for an inning before being replaced.
“We’re going to get an X-ray and figure it out,” North said. “He didn’t want to come out of the game. I had to actually force him. I had him swing a fungo bat (between innings) and it didn’t look like his swing so I think it was better to be on the safe side.”
Gaither leadoff batter Jackson Mirza is checked out by the trainer after being hit on the wrist by a pitch. The senior finished out the first inning before leaving due to the injury.
Game 2 in the best-of-three series will be played Thursday night at East Lake while Game 3, if needed, will take place at Gaither on Saturday.
Gaither base runner Angel Hernandez (1) easily beat Camden Boehm’s tag for a seventh-inning steal of second. Hernandez went on to steal third and score an insurance run in the Cowboys’ playoff victory.
⚾ Class 6A-Region 3 ⚾
Gaither (1-0)
Gaither 3
East Lake 0
G 000|200|1 – |3|7|1
E 000|000|0 – |0|7|2
W – Linares (6-2); L – Boehm (5-4); S – Kindberg (2)
2B – Hernandez, Rojo (G). Records – G (19-8); E (19-8).
