The Gustine varsity baseball team dropped down to second place in the Southern Athletic League after losing the second and final game of a two-game set against Denair on Thursday afternoon. The loss came after a thunderous comeback by the Coyotes in which they erased an early 5-0 deficit.
Denair starting pitcher Noah Lundquist saw the first six batters he faced reach on three fielding errors and three hits, jumping ahead 5-0 out of the gates. Leading off the game with consecutive hits were Avery Etheridge, Michael Salsa and Mike Saaranzin.
Following a scoreless first inning, Gustine starter Alex Quezada encountered similar troubles, surrendering a leadoff walk before hitting a pair of batters. Denair’s Brayden Hart drove in two of those baserunners with a two-out double, before a third run scored on a fielding error. The Coyotes continued cutting into the lead by scoring on a passed ball in the third, then tied things up in the fifth frame with an RBI single by Degan Butler.
The biggest hit of the game came courtesy of Denair’s Lincoln Hart. Facing reliever Lucas Malone, the senior smacked a grounder down the left field line of Ron Cornell Field and sped around the bases for a go-ahead, bases-clearing triple in the sixth inning to give the Coyotes an 8-5 lead.
A relentless Reds offense didn’t go quietly into the evening, chasing Lundquist from the game by reaching on an error, working a walk and loading the bases with an infield single to start the seventh inning. In relief with one out was little brother, freshman Tommy, who was on the losing end of Tuesday’s 10-0 blowout to open the series. Quezada promptly hit a two-run single between the shortstop and third baseman, but Lundquist was able to control his emotions (and his fastball) to strike out the next two batters. He proceeded to get mobbed by his teammates on the mound.
“I was nervous,” admitted Tommy. “With the bases loaded, there’s a lot of pressure, and once the first guy got the hit, I didn’t think it would end well, to be honest.”
But he painted the corners with the fastball, and had help from Hart’s framing behind the plate.
Denair head coach Mike Stucker said there was never a doubt that it would be the younger Lundquist coming in for the save attempt.
“Tommy is really our third guy in the rotation,” he said, also referring to the fact that ace Kaden Prine was unavailable this week due to a minor injury. “Tommy was the guy for the job because he throws strikes, he's really consistent throwing strikes. I knew if he went in there and throws strikes, the worst case scenario is he's going to make them hit the ball, put it in play and give the defense a chance to get somebody out.
“Being a freshman, I mean, what a position he's in now. Bases loaded, one out, he strikes out two guys against the best hitting team in the league — which Gustine is, by far — I'm really proud of him.”
The loss brings the Reds to a 7-2 record against conference opponents, and sets up an ultra-critical two-game series against frontrunner Le Grand (8-1) this week. The two teams will first face off in Le Grand on Tuesday, while the Reds will host the Bulldogs on Thursday, with both games slated for a 4 p.m. first pitch.
Stucker is in his third year as the Denair skipper, and has been rebuilding through much of it, until this year. The Coyotes are now 5-3 in league play and very much in the mix for a postseason spot.
“What Craig Beevers, their coach, has done for their program is incredible,” Stucker said.
The Reds have already secured a second consecutive winning season after five years of playing to .500 records or worse.
“That’s a good ballclub over there.”
