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Coyotes drop thrilling Foothill opener

By Nathan Ahle, The Daily Independent

Greg Byron of Cerro Coso delivers a pitch to a College of the Desert hitter during Thursday's Foothill Conference opener at the Dawg Yard. Byron pitched 4 2/3 solid innings in relief of an injured Caleb Gallagher. DAILY INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY MIKE DELANEY

Nobody ever accused Foothill Conference baseball of being predictable.

Such was the case at the Dawg Yard Thursday afternoon, as the College of the Desert Roadrunners and Cerro Coso Coyotes battled back and forth through all nine innings, with the Roadrunners pulling out a 12-11 win.

A few minutes after the first pitch, it didn't look like the game was going to be exciting for the locals in the least. COD jumped all over Coyote starter Caleb Gallagher, rocking him for five runs in the first inning and another in the second. The reason for the sophomore's rough outing on the mound soon became clear: Gallagher was lifted before the start of the third inning with elbow trouble, allowing six earned runs on six hits and hitting two batters.

Greg Byron came on in relief and allowed two quick runs on a single and a Roadrunner home run to give Desert an 8-0 lead, but the right-hander settled down and kept COD at bay through 4 2/3 innings.

"Greg Byron gave us a chance to win," said Coyote Head Coach Dick Adams.

The Dawgs cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third. Norm Love singled, and Rodney Black was hit by a pitch. After Andrew Masojc grounded into a double play, Kyle Cooper tripled in Love, and Matt Smith doubled in Cooper. Adam Auer was hit by a pitch, as was Tyler Curran. With the bases loaded, Paul Saville drilled a single that scored Smith and Auer, cutting the Roadrunner lead to 8-4.

Trailing 9-4 in the fifth, Cooper and Smith led off with singles, while Auer doubled in Cooper, with Smith moving to third. Curran grounded out, scoring Smith to cut the lead to 9-6.

The momentum continued to shift in Cerro Coso's favor in the sixth, as the Dawgs came all the way back and took a 10-9 lead.

Love started the inning with a walk, and Black was hit by a pitch again. Masojc grounded the runners over, and Cooper walked to load the bases for Smith. The sophomore drew a walk, scoring Love. Auer was also hit by a pitch, which forced Black home, and Curran drilled a base hit that scored Cooper and Smith, and gave the Coyotes the lead.

"Our hitters did a great job battling back," said Adams.

The game wasn't over yet, and COD reminded the locals of this with a game-tying run off Kade McAllister in the eighth inning. Adams brought in closer Adam Garner, who prevented the Roadrunners from doing any further damage.

With the game tied in the bottom of the eighth, Smith started the inning with a one-out hit. Auer also singled, and Curran followed with a single that drove in Smith. Curran drove in four runs on the day. Saville followed with a single, but the Coyotes were unable to extend their advantage. Still, the team appeared in good shape, needing three outs for a victory with their closer on the mound.

Garner recorded a quick out, but a single and two doubles led to two Roadrunner tallies. The Coyotes brought the winning run to the plate with a runner on first in the bottom of the ninth, but Smith struck out against COD's Robert Grace to end the game.

"The hardest thing about this game is to be down 8-0 and battle back to lose," Adams said.

Offensively, Curran led the way with a 2-for-4, 4 RBI effort, while Saville also went 2-for-4 with two runs driven in. As the team's designated hitter, Cooper went 2-for-3 with a triple and a run batted in to go with two walks.

The Coyotes will travel to Palm Desert Saturday for a doubleheader against the Roadrunners. Aaron Keplinger and Matt Smith will pitch for the Coyotes, with the first game beginning at 2 p.m.

March 4, 2005