The S.Q. Giants baseball team routed the visiting Mission 10-1 with solid defense and strong hitting.
In the bottom of the third inning with two outs, Giants catcher Ruben Harper hit a deep ball to left field for an easy double. That sent Richard Zorns, who had walked, to third base.
Next pitcher John Appley belted a deep ball to the center field gate for a triple, driving in two runs as the small crowd of onlookers went crazy.
The hitting fest continued with the next three batters. Nico Vargas, Earnest “Earn” Holloway and Christopher “Cuddy Bo” Smith all hit doubles, ending the third inning 5-0 Giants.
“All of sudden everything started clicking for them. It’s really hard to see that ball out there,” said Mission third baseman Abe Zuckerman.
Mission managed a run in the top of the fourth off two walks and an RBI single.
That did not stop the Giants, who put up three more runs in the fourth, closing the inning 8-1.
Appley had a strong showing on the mound, striking out eight batters, 20 for the season. The rest of the team fielded all the ground balls and turned double plays with finesse.
“We were error-free today; when we are error-free, we are hard to beat,” said Giant Calvin “CJ” Johnson.
Don Spence of the Giants added, “We are getting better as a team, now that we got a lot of time playing with each other.”
The Giants tacked on two more runs in the seventh.
Mission left runners stranded with the bases loaded on their last at-bat, to close the game 10-1.
“Those guys had really good defense. They played great fundamentally and executed everything,” said the Mission’s Theis Finlev.
Johnson finish with, “We are thankful for the outside teams; without them, we wouldn’t have this. This gives us hope and lets us know it’s not over with. It’s truly a blessing.”
The May 16 game moved the Giants’ record to 3-2-1. Their tie came from a strong Baron’s team.
