Strawberry Crest took on the Freedom Patriots to start the season.
Chargers pitcher Saxon Shah took the mound for the home team to start the game. Shah struck out the leadoff hitter from the Freedom Patriots. The following batter hit it to Shah, it bounced off him, and he got the second out by throwing it to the first baseman. The Patriots got their first hit of the game as their third batter in the lineup hit it to right field for a single. The cleanup batter grounded out, and the Chargers escaped the first with no runs allowed.
Reuben Vasquez led off for the Chargers and grounded out to shortstop on the first pitch. Toby Highsmith was up and got a single for the Chargers’ first hit of the game. Josh Cespedes made an impact with his first hit of the season with a missile of an RBI double to the fence, and Highsmith scored the Chargers’ first run of the year. Yusvanny Parra was up and singled to right field to put runners on the corners with Levi Baldwin up. During Baldwin’s at bat, a wild pitch scored Cespedes, but Parra was tagged out, so Baldwin was still up with the Chargers up 2-0 and two outs. Baldwin struck out but reached first thanks to the ball hitting the ground. During Bubba Blount’s at-bat, Baldwin stole second base. Blount RBI singled to extend the Chargers’ lead to 3-0. Tripp House was up next and struck out, and the Chargers left the first inning with a 3-0 lead.
Freedoms’ lead off hitter flew out to center field for the out. Shah struck out the next batter for his second K of the game. He then got his third strikeout of the game and sent it to the bottom of the second.
Jaxon Beattie led off for the Chargers in the bottom of the second and struck out. Christian Lopez was up next and grounded out on the first pitch of the at-bat. Vasquez was then up for his second time of the night, this time with two outs. Vasquez grounded out for a 3 up, 3 down, and the Chargers still led 3-0.
In the top of the third, Freedom had a nice hit in what appeared to be in the gap, but Chargers left fielder Josh Cespedes had an incredible catch to get the first out. For the second out, Shah struck out his fourth batter of the game. He struck out his fifth batter to send it to the bottom of the 3rd.
Highsmith led off for the Chargers in the bottom of the third, and got a single, putting him at 2-2 to start the game. Cespedes was up next, and during his at bat, a wild pitch helped advance Highsmith to second. Cespedes was walked on a full count, putting two on with no outs and Yusvanny Parra was up. Parra grounded into a double play, making it two outs with Highsmith on third. Baldwin grounded out to leave Highsmith stranded, and the Chargers were still up 3-0 after 3.
Shah was back on the mound for the Chargers and stayed hot, striking out the leadoff batter for his sixth K of the game. Shah struck out his seventh batter of the game with another strikeout in the 4th inning. The following batter popped out to first to send it to the bottom of the 4th.
Bubba Blount led off in the bottom of the 4th for the Chargers and got a lead-off walk. House was up next and grounded out to first, but Blount reached second. Jaxon Beattie struck out. Christian Lopez was up next with two outs and reached first thanks to a wild pitch. Blount scored as a result to extend the lead to 4-0. Vasquez was up for his third time of the night and grounded out to first to end the inning.
Shah returned to the mound for the Chargers, and the lead-off batter flew out to center field. The following batter for Freedom got a single with a nice hit that barely went past the shortstop. The next batter RBI doubled to score Freedom’s first run of the game. The following batter was walked, putting two on, with one out for the Chargers. Shah got a clutch strikeout, his eighth of the game, and the 2nd out. Highsmith picked off the Freedom runner at first to escape the inning with two on.
Highsmith led off for his third at bat in the bottom of the 5th and got a lead-off double. Cespedes was up next and popped out to left field. Parra grounded out to first for the second out, and Highsmith got to third on the advance. Baldwin was up next and flew out to end the inning with the score 4-1 Crest.
Freedom’s leadoff hitter had a single to start the top of the 6th. The following batter got a double, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Shah was pulled after a great game for Tripp House. The first batter House faced was walked, loading the bases with no outs. Jayden Taylor came in to pitch for the Chargers, and the following batter hit it to third for a force out, but a runner scored, making it 4-2 with one out. The following batter hit a nice one to center field, and the Freedom runner from second got tagged out at home for the second out of the inning. That brought it to two outs with runners on first and second. The next batter flew out to send it to the bottom of the 6th.
Blount led off in the bottom of the 6th and got a lead-off single. House got a single to put two on with no outs. Jaxon Beattie was up next and was hit by pitch. Bases were loaded with Christian Lopez up. Lopez struck out, bringing up Vasquez with one out. Vasquez popped out, making it two outs. Highsmith was up for his 4th at bat, and he was 3-3 to this point. Highsmith cleared the bases with an RBI double to extend the Chargers’ lead to 7-2. Cespedes was up next and was hit by pitch, putting runners on the corners with Parra up. A wild pitch scored Highsmith, making it 8-2. Parra was walked. Baldwin grounded out.
In the top of the 7th, the Chargers had a 6-run lead. Jayden Taylor was back out pitching for the Chargers and walked the lead-off batter. Taylor struck out his first batter of the game for the first out of the inning. An error by the Chargers’ third baseman allowed the runner to reach first with two on and one out. The Chargers got a force out at second, making it two outs with runners on the corners. The following batter was walked, loading the bases. Grady Prior came in for relief for the Chargers to try to get the final out. The batter grounded out, and the Chargers won 8-2.
