Columbus Falls 3-1 To Flanagan In Falcons Classic
Hernan Sardinas puts a good swing on a pitch in the fourth.
Flanagan got exactly the type of performance it could hope for from its pitching staff on Monday night. Opening the season in the Falcon’s First-Pitch Classic against the defending Class 8A state champion Columbus, starter Nick McDonald and reliever Jeremy Cook combined for a no-hitter and a 3-1 victory.
McDonald transferred to the team this season, and me made quite a statement with his first start in a Falcons uniform. The right-hander pounded the zone and recorded 13 strikeouts in five full innings, while striking out the side in the second, third and fourth. McDonald had first-pitch strikes to seven of the first nine batters he faced the first time through the lineup, and he worked ahead nearly all night.
The defending state champions graduated the majority of the roster from a season ago, and most of the players were making their first varsity starts Monday. But manager Joe Weber was not willing to make excuses.
“They just shoved it right at us,” Weber said. “Eighteen strikeouts, that is something I have never been a part of in my life. That is not going to win any ball games. Nobody said it was going to be easy and this gives us a good idea of where we’re at. So we get back to work tomorrow and flush this one and move on to see what tomorrow brings.”
The Falcons (1-0) got on the scoreboard for all the runs they would ultimately need in the bottom of the first. Ricky Presno lined a single to right field, but was then erased on a fielder’s choice that put Mark Vientos on first. Peter Moforis and Justin Connell drew walks to load the bases and Dylan O’Connell worked the count full before getting hit by a pitch to drive Vientos home. Alex Hernandez was also issued a free pass to score Moforis with the deciding run.
Dominic Diaz pitched the final two innings in relief of starter Andy Arguelles.
The Explorers (0-1) cut into the lead with a run in the fourth. Matt Alfonso walked, advanced to second on a throwing error and then to third on a passed ball. Hernan Sardinas got the ball on the ground to the right side and reached on an error as Alfonso easily raced home to get Columbus on the scoreboard.
The Explorers threatened one last time in the top of the seventh to bring the the go-ahead run to the plate. Danny Bello reached on an error and gave way to pinch-runner David Sanchez. Mike Navarette drew a two-out walk to put the tying run at first, but reliever Jeremy Cook recorded his fifth strikeout of the night to end the game. Cook walked three during his two relief frames, but also did not allow any hits to preserve the no-no for his club.
Moforis helped add an insurance run in the third. He singled to right field and then put his legs to good use by racing all the way around from first to score on a liner straight up the middle from Connell. Moforis reached base all three trips to the plate and finished 2-for-2 with two runs.
“We got a great pitching performance,” Falcons manager Ray Evans said. “We got nineteen strikeouts, which means we had to make two plays. We had three chances to make a play and we made two, but we need to make all three. We could have done a little better hitting and we had guys in scoring position and couldn’t score them. But the pitching performance was outstanding. “
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