Chase Mobley took the mound for Durant and made his presence known instantly with a 4-pitch strikeout to the Chargers lead-off hitter, Reuben Vasquez. The second batter up for the Chargers was Toby Highsmith and he grounded out and Mobley got his second strikeout on the inning on Dillon Knight to retire the side.
Landon Wood took the mound for the Chargers and faced off with Nick April-Gath on the first at-bat who got a lead-off single. Blaine Rowland then singled on a full count. Noah Morales singled, bringing in April-Gath. Chase Mobley grounded into a double play, leaving Rowland on third and Brantley Hayward up. Hayward struck out and the end of the first resulted in a 1-0 Cougars lead.
Akhil Nimmala led off for the Chargers and grounded out to shortstop for the first out of the inning. Chase Conti flew out to right field for a quick second out. Nico Cappucci got the Chargers first hit of the game with a single. During Matt Hall’s at-bat, Cappucci stole second base. Hall was walked, which put runners on the corners with Saxon Shah up. An error by Mobley happened as he tried to throw Hall out. Hall ended up being safe and Cappucci scored, tying the game. Mobley struck out Saxon Shah to get out of the inning.
Tristan Brown singled for the Cougars in the bottom of the second. Jackson McClellan grounded into a double play. Brady Kelly grounded out to short stop for a quick 3 up, 3 down. The end of the second had it tied 1-1.
Lance Highsmith led off in the third for the Chargers and grounded out to shortstop for the first out of the inning. Reuben Vasquez flew out to left field for a quick second out. Toby Highsmith flew out to right field for a quick 3 up, 3 down.
Devin Suero grounded out on the first pitch to start the bottom of the third inning. Nick April-Gath and Blaine Rowland were back up through the order for the second time and both popped up foul for another 3 up, 3 down. The score remained 1-1.
Dillon Knight led off and was struck out for the second time in the game by Chase Mobley. It was another strikeout for Mobley as Akhil Nimmala was caught swinging. Chase Conti popped up to center field to take it to the bottom of the fourth.
Noah Morales grounded out to second to kick off the bottom of the fourth. Chase Mobley walked on a full count. Dylan Hotz pinch ran for Mobley and stole second during Brantley Hayward’s at bat. Hayward grounded making it two outs and designated hitter, Tristan Brown, singled, putting runners on the corners. Jackson McClellan grounded into a forced out at second and the score remained 1-1.
Blaine Rowland replaced Mobley, who allowed just one run.
Nico Cappucci struck out on three pitches. Matt Hall grounded out to shortstop for a quick second out. Saxon Shah struck out for a dominant inning for Rowland.
Brisen Tweedy subbed in for Landon Wood who finished with just one run allowed through four innings.
Tweedy started strong, striking out Brady Kelly. The second out came from a groundout on Devin Suero. The third time through the order brought up Nick April-Gath and Blaine Rowland hit back-to-back singles, putting two on for Noah Morales. Both runners stole bases during Noah’s at-bat, but then Morales was intentionally walked, loading the bases for Chase Mobley. Brayden Dicerb relieved Brisen Tweedy in an attempt to get a much-needed out for Crest. Mobley was hit by a pitch, which brought in a run, giving the Cougars the lead. Brantley Hayward popped up foul to end the fifth, but Durant entered the sixth with a lead.
Rowland was back out to pitch for the Cougars in the top of the sixth and started the inning against Lance Highsmith who grounded out to third on his first at bat. Reuben Vasquez flew out for the second out. Toby Highsmith was walked on a full count putting the tying runner on first with Dillon Knight up. Highsmith was thrown out by Brantley Hayward for the third out of the inning.
Dicerb was back out in the bottom of the sixth for the Chargers and he faced off against Tristan Brown. Brown flew out to left field for the first out. The Cougars couldn’t add on to their 1-run lead as they headed into the seventh trying to hold off the Chargers, up 2-1.
Rowland came back out in the seventh, needing just three outs to secure a win for the Cougars. Dillon Knight struck out on a three-pitch at bat. With one out, Akhil Nimmala walked, putting the tying runner on for Crest. Chase Conti singled to right field which put the go-ahead run up with Nico Cappucci up. Nico grounded out to first, but advanced runners to second and third. Crest had two runners in scoring position with Matt Hall up. On a full count, Hall was walked loading the bases with Saxon Shah up and the game on the line for both teams, Rowland vs Shah. On a full count, Shah was walked by Rowland, tying the game in the top of the seventh. Bases remained loaded with Lance Highsmith up. Highsmith grounded out to end the top of the seventh.
The Cougars needed one run to not only regain the lead but to win the game. Dicerb was on the mound for Crest to start the bottom of the seventh against Devin Suero. The inning started nicely for the Cougars as Suero got a lead-off single. With the game-winning run on first, Nick April-Gath was up. April-Gath dropped a perfect bunt putting two on with no outs and Blaine Rowland up. Rowland struck out bringing up Noah Morales. Durant double stole second and third during Morales at bat and Morales got a sacrifice fly to win the game.
The Final score was Durant 3, Strawberry Crest 2.
“Getting the win over Crest is a huge accomplishment,” Coach Valdez said. “Coach Beattie is a phenomenal coach and has always produced an outstanding program.”
Durant has since beat Hillsborough 11-1 to extend their winning streak to 8 games.
Crest bounced back nicely after losing to Durant, winning two in a row against Freedom and Sumner.