Lashley’s Three-Hit Night Leads Cobras Over Chiefs, 9-2

Brandon Rhodes ready to make a pitch

The importance of going on the road and scoring early is key to any visiting teams’ success. It is ideal for a visiting team to put pressure on the other squad.

“It’s always important to get a lead. When you have a lead, it sometimes takes the aggressiveness out of the other teams,” Park Vista coach Larry Greenstein said. “We knew if we took a lead it would put the brakes on them a little bit.”

Park Vista took that message to heart as it tallied a run in the first and in every inning after that en route to a 9-2 win over the Santaluces Chiefs on Tuesday night.

The scoring started in the top of the first when the Cobras used a two-out RBI double by Trey Amburgey to plate the first run of the game. The next inning, the Cobras took advantage of a misplayed double-play ball to score again.

The beneficiary, Brandon Rhodes, found himself in a jam in the bottom of the second. After giving up an RBI single to Santaluces’ Troy Stark, the lefty found his groove and retired the next two batters via the strikeout. Despite leaving his curve ball up early on, he found a way to get on top of it to limit the damage, and keep the score 2-1.

Shane Bussey, right, went 2-for-4 on the night.

In the next three frames, the Cobras widened their lead to 5-1 on two key, two-out hits. Chris Wurster and Brett Lashley accounted for an RBI each. Lashley’s double down the left-field line accounted for his third hit of the night and it was in large part to his new implemented approach at the plate.

“I was sitting fastball. I got a fastball and hit it to left,” Lashley about his approach. “As a team, we have been focused on going the other way and adjusting to these new bats.”

There was nothing wrong with these bats as the Cobras tallied nine runs on 11 hits and made the Chiefs play catch-up all night.

In the bottom of the fifth, Rhodes ran into trouble again after a two-out fielding error. Back-to-back singles by Eric Cabrera and Braden Griffin plated the second run for the Chiefs. However, shortstop Shane Bussey prevented anymore damage on a great stab up the middle to end the inning.

Despite scattering nine hits, Rhodes turned in a fine performance, giving up one earned run and picking up six strikeouts.

“He wasn’t his best tonight,” Greenstein said. “He wasn’t as sharp as he has been. Going out there every time, you’re not going to have your best stuff all the time. But he battled through it.”

Sean Hyndman pitched one inning with two strikeouts

On the other side, Santaluces showed its versatility, as it utilized six arms to get through the game. Hitters Ernie Cabrera, Eric Cabrera, Braden Griffin and Doug Wright each had two hits. However, it was not enough against the Cobras.

The loss is the fourth of the season for the Chiefs, but it has come against stiff competition.

“Our schedule is really tough at the beginning of the season,” coach Nick Franco said. “I did it on purpose to face really good teams so we can get ready for our district. I feel like, in our district, there is no reason why we can’t compete for the top seed. And it’s important for us to be the number one seed in our district tournament.”

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