Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
Special to the Tribune
Alhambra baseball defeated Dublin on Tuesday, April 12 at home by a score of 4-1.
The Bulldogs jumped on the Gaels in the first inning. After a 1-2-3 top half, second baseman Trent Greene led off with an infield single. Greene proceeded to steal second then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Designated hitter Tyler Peters ripped a one-out single down the third base line to drive in Greene, giving Alhambra a quick 1-0 lead.
Dublin’s Zach Promes dittoed Greene with two outs in the top of the second inning, getting on with an infield single and stealing second. However, Jack Neislon grounded out to strand Promes.
Alhambra added to their lead in the bottom of the third, with Greene as the catalyst again. Greene cracked a line drive over the third baseman’s head down the left field line for a leadoff double. Matt Beck moved Greene to third base with a ground out. Peters then stepped in, legging out an infield single on a grounder deep in the hole at short, scoring Greene to make it 2-0.
Meanwhile, Bulldog starter Cole Gifford continued to cruise through the Dublin lineup, adding to his personal stat line in the fourth inning.
“He plays hard, he works hard. He’s a great kid overall. He hasn’t even scratched his potential. He’s got a long way to go, and I mean that with all due respect. But if he ever reaches that potential, which I believe he will, he’s gonna be one hell of a pitcher one day when he’s a senior,” said Coach Daryl King of his starting pitcher.
Gifford recorded his first strikeout on a curve ball in the dirt, for the second out. He momentarily lost command, issuing consecutive walks to Aaron Gaela and Christian Amador, before snapping off a nasty curve ball on the outside edge to freeze Promes and end the Gael rally.
Dublin put together another rally in the fifth inning, started by a one-out single from Amador, which was followed by a Tony Muñoz walk. Connor Gibbons got the only dangerous piece of contact off Gifford, shooting a line drive to right-center. Fortunately, Daymyn Blalock got a great jump in center, meeting the ball effortlessly for the second out. Gifford struck out an antsy Evan Chin with a neck-high fastball for his inning ending, third strikeout.
The Bulldogs responded in the bottom half of the fifth. Beck and Peters hit back-to-back, one-out doubles, giving Peters his third RBI and his team a 3-0 advantage.
Alhambra pulled Gifford after five innings of shutout ball, turning the game over to Brett Sterrer. Sterrer got off to a rocky start, giving up a lead-off triple to Brandon Greim. Christian Schwartz drove in Greim with a sac fly, cutting the Alhambra lead to 3-1.
Promes hit another line drive off Sterrer, this one right to Blalock in straightaway center to cut off the comeback attempt.
The Bulldogs put their finishing offensive touches on the game in the sixth. Jordyn Eglite and Dominic Pruett placed consecutive one-out singles into right field, setting up Greene for his first RBI and third hit of the game, driving in Eglite to reestablish their three-run lead at 4-1.
Sterrer settled down in the seventh, allowing just two base runners who never posed true threats. Alhambra took the game 4-1.
King was happy with his team’s overall performance, acknowledging that it may have been a pivotal game after a solid start to the season. “You should always have those turning points and keep progressing. If you stay in the same spot all year long, unless you come out absolutely on fire, it’s good to have that turning point. If this is it, it’s a great time to have it.”
Alhambra’s next game is on Thursday, April 14 at Dougherty Valley at 4 p.m. after Tribune deadline.
