Six-run, fourth inning and freshman pitcher Rivera key Cougars to win
Cy-Fair – In district 17-5A, a hefty bout can start with the least of these vs. the top seed. As was the case when fourth place Cy-Creek faced front runner Cy-Woods in game one of its Class 5A Region III Quarter-final matchup.
“One thing about Cy-Creek, they’ve always been able to stay with you. They stay around and capitalize on mistakes,” Michael Loria Cy-Woods coach said.
In a competitive district from top to bottom, Cy-Creek used an eight-hit, six-run, fourth inning to build a 6-2 lead and Freshman Christian Rivera struck out eight batters in a solid start to help the Cougars topple district rival Cy-Woods, 9-3 Thursday night in game one of the best-of-three series at Cougar Field.
The victory moves Cy-Creek one step closer to the regional semis. Game 2 will feature both teams’ ace, Casey Meisner for Cy-Woods and Evan Thomas, which is set for Saturday, 7:30 P.M. at Cy-Woods.
Cy-Creek (19-14), trail 2-0 until the bottom of the fourth inning. That’s when right fielder Login Muhl led off the inning with a standup double to right field as the Cougars batted around which concluded after Muhl struck out. After the dust cleared, Cy-Creek posted, eight hits, six runs, including Dallas Stefano’s 2-run shot over the right field wall, his second of the season, which gave the Cougars a 3-2 lead before ending the inning up 6-2.
“Just like last week against Katy, we just stayed with our plan and it paid off in the seventh inning. Today it happened a little earlier; we didn’t wait until the last inning. But we have a plan when we go to the plate, we can’t deviate from that plan,” Cy-Creek’s Coach Michael McCollum who admitted, when we do, and then we start getting our self in a hole. But, as long as we stick with our plan, the hits are going to come and the runs are going to come.
“You got to wait on your pitch. Just like coach says every day. Sit there, be relaxed, get your pitch and take it out. This win is big but we have to come out tomorrow and do the same thing,” Cy-Creek’s outfielder Dallas Stefano said.
Rivera scatters six hits, three walks and two runs in a hard hat workmen’s like outing. Though early, he gave up two runs, but patiently waited for his offense to come around.
“I got pumped up when we got the lead. I knew had to start bringing it,” said Rivera.
“I’ve been pitching my whole life,” Cougars pitcher Christian Rivera said. Really my team has helped me a lot and I can’t do it without them. They back me up a lot on offense. I maintain my mind, put everything else in God’s hand and trust my teammates.
McCollum said, “For a Freshman, nothing seems to faze him out there. He really only made one or two bad pitches the whole game. Over all you can’t ask for more out of a kid than that. I’m proud of him and proud of the kids for picking him up and playing good defense.
Before the big fourth inning, Conrad Wozniak (6-3), Wildcat’s pitcher had good command, pitching a two-hitter before struggling to find his location late.
During the regular season the teams met twice, with each winning at its home field. Creek won the early meeting in March, 11-6 and a month later Woods avenged the loss with a 4-1 victory.
“Statically, they’re the best hitting team in our district (Cy-Woods) and they score a lot of runs,” said McCollum.
The Cougars struck for three insurance runs in the sixth to close out its scoring. Sami Resendez and Mac Scherer reached base with a double and single respectfully to put runners on the corners. Resendez, then scored on second baseman’s Jacob Sarabia’s bunt and Scherer touched home plate after a pass ball. Muhl followed with an RBI single, driving home Sarabia to give the Cougars a 9-2 lead.
For Cy-Woods, a quiet evening at the plate just wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Cougars whose bats became more aggressive as the game progressed in the later innings.
Cy- Woods coach Thomas Loria said, “Bottom line, we didn’t swing the bats like we’re cable of swinging it. We just didn’t have a good day at the plate. We put a lot of pressure on our starting pitcher. For a little while he was leaving stuff out over the plate and they were taking advantage of it. We had a couple of chances to stop the bleeding and we didn’t do that. We just didn’t have a very good night, that’s why we play two out of three.”
“Game two has always been the most important game, realistically you’re going to lose or turn the momentum. We have our number one going tomorrow and so do they. It’s going to be a tough night for both teams at the plate. We have to execute defensively and we’ll need to do some things offensively to put some pressure on Evan Thomas (Cy-Creek’s ace),” said Loria.