By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Pressed into service on the mound earlier than anticipated, East High senior Pedro Garcia hurled two-plus innings of relief and contributed one of two key hits in a decisive rally as the host Eagles came from behind to defeat Waterloo, 7-5 in non-league action, Thursday afternoon.
Garcia entered the game with two outs, two runs in and East trailing 3-2 in the top of the fifth. The left-hander induced a groundball from the first batter he faced to end the inning.
“Thankfully, Pedro came in and did his job on the mound as a senior and a veteran,” East High head coach Kyle Crandall said. “I’m really proud of his effort.”
His performance on the mound kept East within striking distance, and the Eagles didn’t waste any time.
Garcia and Emille Diaz connected on back-to-back two-run doubles as East pushed five runs across in the home half of the frame.
Pedro Garcia follows an Emille Diaz double with a two-bagger of his own that touches inside the first-base bag. @eastbaseball585 6-3 with no outs in the fifth. pic.twitter.com/szHMSQNZE7
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 6, 2023
Justus Robinson worked a base on balls to lead the bottom of the fifth. Mitchell Nieves and Josiah Brown reached on back-to-back hit by pitches to load the bases.
Diaz and Garcia followed with a pair of two-strike hits.
“That’s something that we have been focusing on after our first game, situational hitting and approaches,” Crandall said. “One of them is how we approach two-strike situations. Both Emille and Pedro had really good at-bats and came through in the clutch.”
Yoelvis Cabrera capped the inning with an RBI groundout for a 7-3 lead.
The outburst came after East starter Miguel Matos rolled his ankle attempting to cover home.
“To lose the lead, see your teammate go down and knowing that we’ve got six or seven of the guys in our lineup are ninth and 10th graders, I wanted to see how they were going to respond,” Crandall said. “Incredibly proud that they didn’t fold. They fought, and we got a win over a quality opponent.”
Garcia finished with five strikeouts including the final out of the game with the go-ahead run at the plate.
Pedro Garcia retires the side in order with a pair of Ks. Heading to the bottom of the sixth: @eastbaseball585 7 Waterloo 3 pic.twitter.com/rNJ4mDYkb2
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 6, 2023
“He was dealing,” Crandall said. “He was throwing strikes, working ahead in the counts. When you have a veteran pitcher, those are the things you hope you’re going to see. I’m really proud of how he came in and carried the team.”
His appearance on the mound, while planned at some point in the game, was unexpected at that point in the game.
“Pedro knew he was going to be in relief,” Crandall said. “He didn’t know when he was going to come in. He had not thrown any warmup pitches prior to that. Miguel was in rhythm and was throwing well for us.
“The understanding was that when Miguel reached his (state-mandated pitch-count) limit, Pedro would be ready. He wasn’t expecting it at that moment.”
Miguel Matos fans the side and leaves the tying run at third. Bottom of the 4th: @eastbaseball585 2 @WaterlooAD 1 pic.twitter.com/IDpB9Mj6be
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 6, 2023
Waterloo’s Casey Burcroff finished 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, two stolen bases, an RBI and three runs scored. Hayden Linehan drove in a run with a single. Dylan Caraballo and Connor McCann both singled and scored for the Tigers.
Alex Rogers climbs the 🪜 to grab a line drive and doubles off the runner at third to end the sixth. @eastbaseball585 7 @CoachEllison3 3 pic.twitter.com/ecAlfe9PTg
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 6, 2023
East completed an unconventional doubleheader sweep when it defeated Northeast, 11- in RCAC action later in the afternoon. Maliq Bell-Brown finished 2-for-5 with a triple, walk, three RBI and five runs scored. Omar Rodriguez doubled, walked and scored four times. Justin Cadiz was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Northeast’s Jasdiel Velazquez singled and scored a run.
Leave a Reply