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Coyotes play the waiting game

By Nathan Ahle, The Daily Independent

DAILY INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY NATHAN AHLE
Cerro Coso's Ryan Penn (on the mound) pitched 'superb' baseball and Matt Smith (at first base) had two extra-base hits and scored two runs, but it wasn't enough to push the Coyotes past the Chaffey College Panthers Saturday afternoon. DAILY INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY NATHAN AHLE

Saturday was almost a "win and you're in" day for the Cerro Coso Coyotes baseball team. If the Dawgs could beat the Chaffey College Panthers, a team Cerro Coso had taken two out of three from in the teams' regular-season series, Dick Adams' squad would be a strong contender for an at-large berth in the state playoffs, their first such appearance since 2000.

But it was not to be, as Chaffey spoiled the party with a 4-3 win.

Ryan Penn (10-4) took the hard-luck loss for the Coyotes, despite going all nine innings and allowing four earned runs. The right-hander will finish tied with Jason Mackintosh for most career wins by a Coyote with 21 - unless the team makes the playoffs.

"Penn pitched superb," said Coyotes Head Coach Dick Adams.

What did Penn in, however, was the longball. After giving up a run in the third inning, Bridger Clark and Gregory Wolfe each hit solo shots off Penn in the fifth and sixth innings, as Chaffey held a 3-0 lead heading into the late innings.

In the Coyote seventh, Matt Smith led off with a double, then advanced to third with a base hit by Adam Auer. After Caleb Gallagher struck out, Norm Love singled in Smith to put the Coyotes on the board. Two batters later, a Rodney Black sacrifice fly scored Auer to cut the lead to one.

Trailing 4-2 heading into the ninth, Smith tripled to start the frame. Auer singled him home to cut the lead to 4-3. Beau Walker, batting for Gallagher, popped out to the catcher on an attempted bunt. Norm Love followed and worked the count to 3-2 and then drilled a pitch down the left-field line. Adams and the Coyotes felt that the ball hit the warning track in fair territory, but the umpire called the ball foul.

"I don't want to be a crybaby," Adams said, "but that was a blatantly missed call."

Still hitting with a 3-2 count, Love watched as Auer was picked off second base. Love then struck out looking to end the game.

"Our window of opportunity closed a little bit here," Adams said. "A win gives us a 90 percent chance of the playoffs, but now it's 50-50."

The team will have to wait until May 10, when the state brackets are announced, to learn its fate. Adams said that the team will continue to practice throughout the coming week.

"We're in limbo," he said.

May 2, 2004