2008 Woodie Awards
Playoff Fever for Falcons Baseball
Falcons Clinched BVC Title and recent games show no sign of slowing
Vanessa-juliana Petker
Issue date: 5/9/07 Section: Sports
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Closer, Eric Nyquist wears an attitude of excellence by reaching beyond record-breaking stats creating a milestone for other pitchers to reach. Although he broke the state save record of 10 two weeks ago, he kept on adding to it with a total of 15 for the season.
Nyquist secured his 15th win on May 3 at Solano against Los Medanos. Seeing double was the style of the Falcons' last home game against Los Medanos on Thursday, May 3. In addition to hitting doubles, the game had a plethora of defensive double plays, and back-to-back strikes.
Matt Esler and Calen Yost gave the Falcons' their first two runs in the first inning with Ryan Lipkin earning another RBI to add to his whopping current total of 36 and right-hander Kris Cole (ERA 2.67) worked to keep Los Medanos scoreless.
The second inning was mostly motionless for both teams except for Falcons' third baseman Todd Morris playing double duty on a double play between himself and first baseman Aldridge.
The Falcons' rolled out another double play in the third and Cole's strikeout finished up Los Medanos, but Solano was also kept at bay with strong defense from Los Medanos, leaving the score at 2-0 for Solano.
Fourth and fifth innings had equal opportunity for both teams, with Solano throwing double plays, Cole throwing strikeouts, and fielders outing batters within minutes. But Los Medanos also allowed nothing for Solano as their heavy weight right-hander Anthony Vega (ERA 2.04) was keen on shutting out Solano. Los Medanos also pulled in their first run.
By the sixth inning, the fans needed some action and their wish was granted starting with three quick outs for Los Medanos that opened the pearly gates for doubles from Yost, Lipkin, A.J. Contreras and Ryan Shook. Yost, up first, advanced to third on Pavesi's ground-out and after Lipkin drove in Yost, Contreras drove in Lipkin. Shook also hit a double, scoring Contreras and then came home after a passed ball and single from Todd Morris raising the score to 6-1.
The seventh had no offensive gains for the Falcons, but their defense stayed alert when bases loaded for Los Medanos. But Cole was not interested in giving up another run and after striking out the next batter, he took control of the third out by catching an infield pop-up.
Falcon batting averages are strong with leader Bryan Aldridge at .421 and Yost and Pavesi tied at .377. Even so, Los Medanos' fielders halted any further gains for Solano. This lead to the tense situation in the ninth after Los Medanos' scored a run in both the eighth and ninth innings altering the score to 6-3.
With two outs, Head Coach Stover chose to take out Dallas Cole and bring in his save leader, Eric Nyquist, to finish the game that was at a potential tie. Stover chose wisely, as Nyquist, with two outs on the board pitched into a forced play ending the game at 6-3 and earning him yet another save.
Immediately preceding the game, Coaches Stover, Jon Harris and Ralph Rago, took the time to handout framed jerseys to their veteran players (two seasons with Falcons), D. Cole, Yost, Nyquist, Alex Parrot, and Jason Quintos.
Thursday's game closed out the Falcons' season at home in Solano but the last game of the season was played on Los Medanos' turf on Saturday, May 5. Not surprising, Solano won 5-0 with Dustin Crenshaw at the helm for eight innings, allowing only four hits for Los Medanos.
Healthy pride and celebration reigns within this charismatic ball team as they proudly wear their conference championship shirts around campus. And they should. Their performance is not the only impressive facet of the 2007 team; it's their conduct, attitude and camaraderie. Major league ball clubs could learn a few lessons from these young men.
Don't miss the playoffs at Solano as the Falcons host on Friday, May 11.
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