Gators face the music

Nick Christensen

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 | 9:16 a.m.

Green Valley's baseball team came into Tuesday's contest against Foothill looking to prove that last week's home loss to Silverado was just a fluke.

More and more though, the Gators' excellent start to 2005 looks like just a stroke of luck.

Mustering just four hits off Foothill pitcher Scott Lamborn, Green Valley was soundly defeated 6-1 by Foothill in what was for six innings a pitchers' duel.

Still down 3-1 in the seventh inning, with increasingly nervous and frustrated fans and parents patiently waiting for the Gators' offense to finally play to its 2005 expectations, Green Valley ace Greg Krause took the mound to make his 90th pitch of the afternoon.

Jake Gibon's attempt at a leadoff bunt failed on No. 90. Four pitches later, Trevor Diez flied out to center.

But on pitch number 95, Kevin Kreier doubled to center. Lamborn was intentionally walked, and on Krause's 100th pitch of the afternoon, Chadd Dudley singled in Kreier. Catcher Matt Sexton's two-run double gave Foothill its final margin.

To find where the wheels came off for Krause, look back at Dudley's first at-bat. Krause let go what his teammates said was his hardest pitch of the day, a fastball that got away from him upon release, cracking on the earflap of Dudley's helmet an instant afterwards.

Dudley, looking confused and angry, walked toward first as both teams' coaching staffs attempted to get a trainer to the field. As a 10-minute delay wore on while the teams awaited the arrival of the trainer from a nearby softball game, Krause tried his best to keep warm, throwing a few practice pitches.

When the delay was over, Sexton got the first of his three RBIs by singling home Diez -- after an eight-pitch at-bat.

In all, Foothill batters fouled off 11 of Krause's pitches after they already had two strikes. Krause ended the game with 109 pitches and an ice pack that couldn't be cold enough taped to his arm.

"We've gotten to a point where we stress to the kids to battle with two strikes," Foothill coach Bill Bainbridge said. "Quite a few at-bats there we were fighting off some really good pitches by Krause, trying to fight to get a good pitch. A few weeks back, we'd be turning those at-bats into four-pitch at-bats instead of seven- or eight-pitch at-bats."

But Foothill's success in strategically outplaying Krause still couldn't overshadow Lamborn's stellar performance. He walked just one Gator while striking out 10. Green Valley's one run came off a wild pitch that bounced just short of Sexton's glove with Justin Mishalow waiting on third base after a second-inning triple.

"I tried to pick up my strikes and play solid defense," Lamborn said. "As long as I throw strikes, I don't think they can hit me."

Green Valley coach Nick Garritano congratulated Foothill on their stellar game, but expressed a deep concern about the way his team has played lately.

"We're just not a good baseball team right now," he said. "We're not playing at a high level, and I take full responsibility for it ... it always starts with coaching. I'm not doing my job."

Green Valley next plays Thursday at Coronado. Foothill will host expansion school Del Sol.

Around town

"We could very easily be out of the playoffs," coach Mike Hubel said. "We've got to take care of our business. We're not taking care of business right now."

Cimarron was the state runner-up last year, and started 2005 ranked No. 49 in the country by Baseball America.

Since then, the Spartans have stumbled, despite carrying a roster strikingly similar to last year's.

But while the names are the same, the attitude has changed.

"It's completely different," Hubel said. "Last year, the kids were out for blood. They wanted to prove themselves. They did. They fell a little short at state, but we haven't built on our success from last year. I don't know if the seniors are worrying about next year. My thing is, hey, let's master this level and once we get to college we can worry about that level."

The Spartans may get a breath of fresh air this afternoon, when they play struggling Mojave at North Las Vegas.

He's beginning to prove his point.

The Bengals have climbed to a winning record, with a 6-2 start to league play including close losses to No. 1 Sierra Vista and second-ranked Durango.

"Nothing against weaker teams, but I shied away from Del Sol (and) we haven't played Liberty," Safford said Tuesday. "We're getting it done on the mound. We don't hit. In our eight games so far, we've only given up 17 runs total."

Six of those runs were to Sierra Vista, which was the first local team to clinch a playoff spot earlier this week. The Mountain Lions scored four sixth-inning runs off pitcher Ross MacDonald to get the comeback win at Rhodes Ranch.

MacDonald and junior Colby Shreve have been Bonanza's pitching stalwarts this season.

"(Shreve's) been our go-to guy, he's a junior, 6-foot-5, and he's been looked at by every scout known to man," Safford said. "In our first 100 innings pitched this year, we've had 111 strikeouts. We're only making one, maybe two errors a game."

Bonanza gets its chance to make a real statement today, when they host Sierra Vista to conclude the teams' season series.