Golden – Despite some of the worst conditions of the season Saturday, Golden pitcher Zach Cleveland turned in arguably his best performance.
Cleveland overcame three innings of occasional gale- force winds, giving up three hits and no walks and striking out six as the Demons ripped No. 9 D’Evelyn 11-0 in five innings of s Class 4A Jefferson County League game.
“I couldn’t believe how strong the wind was,” said Cleveland, who, like almost every player, had to chase his hat at some point and wince amid clouds of blowing dirt from the infield.
Although the elements certainly played no favorites, only the Demons (9-5, 5-1 in league) seemed able to cope.
The Jaguars (12-3, 5-1) committed six errors to leave starting pitcher Joe Norris swinging in the breeze before Dan Graeve relieved him with two out in the bottom of the third inning.
Norris gave up six hits, only one for extra bases, struck out three and was charged with all 11 runs.
The wind became a whisper in the fourth inning, and both Cleveland and Graeve faced the minimum three batters. Cleveland ended the game in the fifth when he got center fielder Tom Kastens to fly out after giving up consecutive infield hits to Anthony Sylvester and Josh Gesell.
“You can’t get used to those gusts,” Demons coach Brad Madden said.
Golden first baseman Kevin Coughlin was 3-for-3 at the plate and drove in three runs, and catcher Nate Goergen drove in two runs. Left fielder Anthony Carbone had the strangest line as he went 0-for-3 but managed to score three runs courtesy of three Jaguars errors.
“The wind kind of affected us,” said Graeve, who gave up just one hit in 1 1/3 innings of relief. “After that first inning, when we failed to score, we kind of got our heads down and never recovered. Errors killed us.”
The Demons, who had not defeated the Jaguars since 2003, jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Coughlin and Goergen knocked in runs, and the Jaguars helped out with one error and a run-scoring passed ball.
The wheels fell off for D’Evelyn in the second inning. Designated hitter Louie Garramone led off with a double to right field and was brought home by Jeff Walker. The Demons scored four more runs thanks in part to the left side of the Jaguars’ defense committing four errors.
D’Evelyn 000 00 – 0 3 6
Golden 452 0x – 11 7 2
D’Evelyn – Gesell ss 3-0-1-0, Sears 2b 3-0-1-0, Kastens cf 2-0-0-0, Goetz 1b 2-0-0-0, Wilson 3b 1-0-0-0, Baldesarri rf 2-0-0-0, Ozols lf 2-0-0-0, Johnson dh 2-0-0-0, Sylvester c 2-0-1-0, Norris p 0-0-0-0, Schaffer 3b 1-0-0-0, Graeve rf 0-0-0-0. Totals 20-0-3-0.
Golden – Walker 2b 2-1-0-1, Carbone lf 3-3-0-0, Rizzuto cf 1-3-1-0, Coughlin 1b 3-2-3-3, Goergen c 3-0-1-2, Valerius 3b 2-0-0-1, Sheesley rf 3-0-1-1, Babkiewich ss 3-0-0-0, Garramone dh 3-1-1-0, Cleveland s 0-0-0-0, DeCarlo pr 0-1-0-0. Totals 23-11-7-8.
E – Gesell 3, Ozols, Sears, Wilson; Bab- kiewich, Cleveland. LOB – D’Evelyn 6, Golden 4. SB – Baldesarri 2; Coughlin. Caught stealing – Sheesley. 2B – Sears; Garramone. SAC – Valerius. T – 1:40.
Batteries – Norris, Graeve (3) and Sylvester; Cleveland and Goergen. HBP – Kastens (by Cleveland in first); Walker (by Norris in first); Rizzuto (by Norris in second); Rizzuto (by Norris in third). PB – D’Evelyn 1. WP – Cleveland. W – Cleveland. L – Norris.
