The Sharks overcame drizzle, rain, and the L.A. Baptist Knights to pick up their first win of the season, 4-2. Senior Colbie Bell allowed just one hit while striking out eight over five soggy innings.
Going on the road for the first time this season, Malibu encountered a wet field and umpires determined to get in the matchup that had already been rained out once. The Sharks got on the scoreboard quickly as Greg Kernodle led off the top of the first with a walk and advanced to second on Bell's bunt single. Kernodle and Bell moved up on a wild pitch and, after Mike Gwyn popped out to second, Brooks Fitch singled through the left side to score Kernodle. Stephen Williams followed with a groundout to short that knocked in Bell with the Sharks' second run.
The Knights answered with a single run in the bottom of the first. The score then remained deadlocked at 2-1 until the fifth and final inning. With two outs, Kernodle and Bell singled and Gwyn walked to load the bases. Walks to Fitch and Williams drove in a run each to give Malibu a 4-1 lead.
With a half inning to go to make the game official and a steady rain falling, Bell walked three, hit a batter, struck out two, and gave up a sacrifice fly to escape with the win in a game where pitchers and fielders struggled with slippery baseballs and batters and runners struggled with treacherous footing.
Bell was his own best friend, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Kernodle also scored two runs while Williams drove in two.
Defensively, Jace Dispenza’s three catches in centerfield--each one looking up into the rain--rated as the top performance.
Back in Malibu, the JV game against L.A. Baptist was rained out.
Next up for the Sharks, weather permitting, is a home game tomorrow (Tuesday) against Oxnard beginning at 3:00 p.m.
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