Bishop Gorman strikes early, late in baseball win over Palo Verde
With the way Bishop Gorman jumped on Palo Verde in the first inning Wednesday, it looked as if it might be a short, easy day at the ballpark.
The Gaels’ first three batters scored, but it turned into a back-and-forth game that needed an extra inning to decide.
In the eighth, Maddox Riske hit a two-run homer to spark a four-run rally and 9-5 Bishop Gorman win at Palo Verde.
The home run was redemption for the freshman second baseman, who made two errors.
“He’s one of our most reliable defenders,” Gorman coach Gino DiMaria said. “He doesn’t make errors. For him to come up in that situation, a lot of kids would have tucked it in and said, ‘I’m done.’ But he had the attitude that he needed to help his team in some way, and he caught it.”
Santino Panaro was hit with the first pitch of the game, and Justin Crawford followed with a two-run homer just inside the foul pole in right field. Tyler Whitaker reached on an error and scored on a bloop single by Gunnar Myro for a 3-0 lead.
Crawford went 3-for-5 and Myro 3-for-4. Nick Calleo was 2-for-4 with a double, and Tommy DiLandri went 2-for-5 for Palo Verde.
But a combination of Gorman (7-1) relaxing with the early lead and Palo Verde pitcher Jacob Gonzalez settling into the game kept it 3-0 until the fourth.
That’s when the Panthers (6-2) got their offense going with help from Gorman. Palo Verde loaded the bases with one out on walks to Craig Stratton and C.J. Kalekas, sandwiched around a double from Calleo.
Zach Helein walked to push home the first run, and Jason Schaaf hit a tapper in front of the plate. Gorman pitcher Tyler Avery fired high to first, and the bases cleared as the ball rolled down the right-field line, giving the Panthers a 4-3 lead.
“We have to learn how to finish and keep the foot on the pedal,” DiMaria said. “We don’t do that. We jumped up 3-0, and all of a sudden our mental approach to at-bats changed. Defensively, we got a little relaxed, and against good teams like that, you can’t do that.”
The Panthers extended their lead to 5-3 in the fifth when Aric Anderson doubled and scored on an error. Gorman scored in the sixth on Anthony Marnell’s sacrifice fly and tied the game in the seventh on Whitaker’s sacrifice fly.
Palo Verde had a chance to win in the bottom of the seventh with runners on first and second and one out, but Demitri Diamont struck out the next two batters.
After Riske’s eighth-inning home run, the Gaels added runs on RBI doubles from Whitaker and Gavin Mez.
Diamont picked up the win by allowing one hit and striking out four in 1 2/3 innings. Schaaf took the loss.
“This 5A is not easy, and this game meant a lot to both of us,” DiMaria said. “With our lineup, we’re always in the game. Just keep going. If somebody doesn’t do it, somebody picks him up.”
Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.