Park Vista Homers Its Way Past Santaluces, Moves To 8-0

Nyles Newland tripled to lead off the second inning and later scored.

One of these nights it’s going to happen. One of these nights, Park Vista is going to lose a baseball game. It’s just not feasible to win 26 straight in a game as nuanced as baseball. But the Cobras are giving it their best shot, improving to a perfect 8-0 and 4-0 in District 8A-10 by beating the Santaluces Chiefs by a score of 7-1 on Friday night at West Boynton Park.

“Obviously, everybody goes to win every game,” Park Vista manager Larry Greenstein said after his clubs latest victory. “We’re going to take every game like it’s the final four and we’re playing for a state championship. Because if you don’t, somewhere along the line you don’t want to lose a game because you didn’t put forth your best effort. People are going to lose games, but if you put forth your best effort, you can live with that.”

The effort his kids put forth on Friday was as good as anyone could reasonably ask for. All season, the Cobras have had a lot of tools at their disposable. They can hit for average, as evidenced by the fact that they have seven players in their lineup batting over .300, four of them over .400. They also have excellent starting pitching, with their top three starters combining for an ERA of 0.00 in 33 innings. They’ve been dangerous on the bases as well, with leadoff man Matthew Mika leading the county with 19 stolen bases.

While all of these tools were on display against the Chiefs, they also added another one to their crowded belt: Power. On a blustery and chilly night, they sent two balls over the left field fence to account for four of their seven runs and double their previous season total of just one home run.

Said Greenstein about the sudden outburst of power: “They put two good swings on it. Both guys, (Joey) Innacone and Matthew Mika, they just squared up on the ball and it went.” While he’ll never complain about such results, he’s quick to point out that that’s rarely the goal of the team’s at-bats, preferring that his hitters just take what the defense gives them and bring runners around.

That’s exactly what Austin Smith did in the bottom of the first inning. After two quick outs, Tyler Barre reached via walk and then stole second and third base while Smith ran the count to 2-2. Smith was able to make contact on the fifth pitch of the at-bat, ripping a grounder past the Chiefs second baseman and driving in Barre for an early 1-0 lead.

The Cobras added another in the next inning. Nyle Newland led off the inning by firing a line drive all the way to the right-center field fence for a triple. Inaconne, who was a perfect 3-for-3 on the night, dropped a base hit into left field two batters later to bring him across. Mika was then hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second with only one out.

That’s when Santaluces stepped up and helped its pitcher, Justin Tworek, out of trouble. The Chiefs third baseman cleanly fielded a hard ground ball off the bat of Julylia Dakota, quickly stepped on third for the force, then fired a strike across the diamond to complete a rare 5-3 double play.

Tworek seemed to be settling in after that, striking out the final two Cobra batters of the third inning and the first two of the fourth. Then he ran into more two-out trouble. He hit Colin Smith with a pitch before Inaconne hit his second single of the night.

Bruce Betchel had his part of a strong Cobra pitching staff.

That’s when Mika stepped up to the plate. He swung at the first pitch he saw and there was never a doubt from the moment the ball hit his bat that the park would not be able to hold it. It sailed cleanly over the left field fence for a three-run home run, giving Park Vista a 5-0 lead.

Tworek took a seat in the fifth, having allowed five runs on five hits, with five strikeouts and three walks. Jonathon Wake pitched a scoreless inning of relief in his absence, but needed some help from his catcher, Joseph Strzelecki. He made the second out when Newland popped one up the chute. Strzelecki struggled to find it in the lights but was able to make the grab at the last moment while falling on his back.

It was a tough night for Strzelecki otherwise. He took a physical beating both behind and at the plate. In the third inning, he fouled two consecutive balls of his foot and, in a scary moment, fell to the ground, writhing in pain. He eventually shook it off to finish not only the at-bat, but also the game. On the bright side, he had the Chiefs’ only RBI of the night in the sixth inning, giving himself up with a ground ball that brought around Auston Smith, who had doubled earlier in the frame.

“He had a rough night,” said Santaluces manager Nick Franco of his catcher. “He’s beat up. But you know what? He’s a trooper. I give him all the credit in the world. He said, ‘I don’t want to come out,’ so I let him stay. I’m very pleased and proud of how he responded.”

Like Tworek, Wake also eventually fell victim to the Cobra’s newfound power. Inaconne finished off his perfect night by taking him deep to lead off the sixth, hitting the home run to almost the same spot as Mika had earlier.

After that, Wake gave way for Jaxon Scofield, who gave up one unearned run to make it 7-1.

For Park Vista, Bruce Betchel made his third start of the season after missing all of last year due to injury. Like the first two, it was a quality one. He struggled a little in the first, walking the first and third batter he faced, but also struck out the second and fourth. He quickly settled in after that, walking only one more on the night while ringing up a total of nine strikeouts. He also allowed only one run on just two hits.

“That’s a great performance because he didn’t have his best stuff early in the game,” said Greenstein, who was pleased with what his pitcher brought to the mound. “He struggled. He fought through it and in the second inning was a little better. After that he found himself and just cruised.”

It was a tough district loss for Santaluces, who has gone 0-4 in their first year in a Class 8A district.

The Chiefs will work hard to rebound from a disappointing loss.

For Santaluces, it was a disappointing loss, dropping them to 3-7 (0-4 in 8A-10). “Hat’s off to them,” Franco said afterwards. “They’re very good and they’re on a roll right now. We need to work hard to get better before it’s too late. One thing about my group, no matter what, they work hard.”

On the other hand, the excitement of being undefeated was palpable in the Park Vista dugout.

“We had a big win tonight,” said Austin Smith. “We came out, we hit pretty good. We just started well and played good defense for Bruce. We just played together as a team very well tonight.”

They also celebrated as a team.

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