The San Quentin Athletics outlasted the San Quentin Giants in their much-anticipated season opener before several hundred cheering fans, defeating the Giants 10-7.
After Rueben Harper doubled down the first base line, Blake Carlyle smacked an RBI double to centerfield, breaking a 5-5 tie in the top of the sixth inning. The A’s never gave up the lead from that point.
The Giants proceeded to make crucial errors and allowed the A’s to steal bases at will. During the sixth inning, the A’s stole three bases. The Giants committed two errors, allowing the A’s to increase their lead to 8-5. Isaiah-Bonilla Thomson ripped an RBI double to centerfield to add another run. The top of the sixth ended at a score of 9-5.
The Giants attempted to make a dramatic comeback in the bottom of the eighth inning. Trailing 10-5, Chris Smith delivered a base hit up the middle and Stafont Smith doubled him home to decrease their deficit to 10-6. After two walks and a stolen base, the Giants scored another run off an A’s error. They never scored again, losing in a heart-breaker.
Early in the game, the Giants struck first as Stafont Smith smashed a two-run single to center field in the bottom of the first inning.
“I went to the game to have fun.”
The A’s tied the score on RBI hits by Asad Perez and Chris Marshall in the top of the second inning.
In the top of the fifth inning, the A’s broke the tie as Isaiah Thompson-Bonilla smashed a RBI single up the middle. After scoring on a wild pitch, Perez hit a RBI double to right-centerfield, increasing their lead to 5-2. Michael Tyler started a Giants rally in the bottom of the fifth, as he drove a base hit to right field, stole second and scored on a A’s error. After singles by Marcus Crumb and Hakika Lerato, Chris Smith tripled them home on a drive to center field, tying the game at 5-5.
Mario Ellis was the starting pitcher for the Giants and Jeff Dumont was the starting pitcher for the Athletics.
Athletics Coach John “Yahya” Parratt said, “This win says a lot about the A’s under pressure. I’m very proud of how our team played situational baseball. We got this win by not giving up, even after the team put itself into some tight jams. I give credit to the Giants staff and players for a hard fight.”
The Giants’s Stafont Smith commented after their loss, “I went into the game to have fun. I wanted the new players to see that if you go into the game to have fun, you will enjoy the outcome, win or lose, because of good sportsmanship and good attitude. I knew we were up against their ace starting pitcher because of the games we played before. My approach was to make a statement in that game, that the San Quentin Giants is another team to be reckoned with.”
Lt. Sam Robinson threw the opening pitch, which was a fastball strike. Larry Faison played a rousing version of the Star Spangled Banner on his trumpet, and the colors were presented by the Vietnam Veterans Group of San Quentin.
