San Francisco Seagulls Weekend Recap June 1-7
After picking up an opening day road win over the Menlo Park Legends, the San Francisco Seagulls entered their opening weekend at home looking to pile on momentum.
To open on Friday against the Alameda Merchants, the Seagulls faced an early 2-0 deficit through three innings. However, a single from junior third baseman Jake Brewer evened the score in the sixth.
Before long, they had hit their stride, leading to a double from freshman infielder Tanner Wall in the seventh, and a two-RBI single from sophomore first baseman Christian LaMothe in the eighth inning, allowing San Francisco to claim victory.
Although their play at the plate created a one-run cushion, the Seagulls called sophomore right hander Matt Potter to the mound to maintain that lead where he delivered with four strikeouts in a shutout 1 ⅓ innings.
Heading into Saturday, the Seagulls were firing on all cylinders, showing both their resilience and offensive ceiling through their first two matchups. San Francisco would need both as they prepared for a top-ranked North Division battle against the Sonoma Stompers.
Starting at the top of the third inning, the Stompers took the first swing, knocking down the Seagulls into a 7-1 deficit after junior first baseman Hunter Carlson collected 5 RBIs in back-to-back innings, turning on two Declan Mendel pitches and sending them into deep right field.
San Francisco battled back in the bottom of the fourth inning with a six-run surge orchestrated by the bottom half of the order, including a two-RBI single by junior catcher Blake Cowans and the bounce-back play at the plate from returning junior right fielder Derek Waldvogel.
The Seagulls would continue their dominance in the fifth inning, taking a 12-7 lead. That advantage would stagnate as San Francisco flipped a switch on the mound once sophomore left hander Joseph Steidel entered the contest, striking out six of the 12 batters he faced.
Steidel joined his Colorado School of Mines teammate Matt Potter’s company as they begin their seasons in command of their pitching arsenal.
Seagulls manager Marc Cavilgia said they’ve displayed flashes of their potential in relief. “Both those guys were really promising, and if they could keep that up, this just adds so much more depth to what we already have.”
A win looked to be in the cards for San Francisco until Sonoma stabilized their desperation into strength, rallying from down five runs before giving themselves a 14-12 lead heading into the final frame.
The Seagulls fought tooth and nail to regain momentum, beginning the ninth with bases loaded and no outs. However, junior right hander Keller Ausbun didn’t waver, leveling his urgency on the mound to earn three straight strikeouts swinging.
Coming off the gut-wrenching loss, Caviglia said these games create the identity the Seagulls needs to embody. “This is a really good league, and it’s not easy, the competition is fierce, and the competition is going to play to the end, and we have to do the same thing.”
After the loss, San Francisco traveled to Monte Vista High School yesterday where they would face another tough test in the Walnut Creek Crawdads.
Despite LaMothe’s first homer of the summer and senior outfielder Davis Germann’s two-RBI double, a fifth inning push couldn’t create any true momentum and outshine a six-run second inning from the Crawdads.
Even with the loss, LaMothe’s early production and attitude has given Caviglia an understanding of what he can add to this roster. “He hunts for his pitch, is pretty disciplined on staying off of good pitchers pitches, and brings a lot of focus and a lot of energy, and plays the game hard, plays the game with heart.”
Heading into a pivotal second week, Caviglia said the Seagulls need to remain confident in playing their own brand of baseball. “Not worrying really about the opponent, but controlling what we can control, which is our focus, our energy, and our preparation.”
San Francisco will stay in Danville as they look to battle from a 9-4 loss against Walnut Creek tomorrow before traveling back to San Bruno Park for a four-game home stand against the San Luis Obispo Blues and the Alameda Merchants beginning on Thursday.
Written by Owen Daszko