The Sharks banged out 12 hits including three doubles and a homerun but fell short in a 6-5 loss to Campbell Hall. Greg Kernodle doubled twice, Jace Dispenza had two singles, Jacob Perrin had a single and a double, and Stephen Williams also had two hits including his first homerun of the year.
Freshman Matt Cathcart, making his first varsity start, pitched five innings for the Sharks. Cathcart gave up five runs, all earned, struck out two, walked three, and hit two batters. Because the homerun by Williams tied the game in the sixth inning, Cathcart was spared the loss.
Malibu mounted a short-lived threat in the top of the first. After Kernodle grounded out to lead off the inning, Dispenza singled to center and advanced to second on a passed ball. Williams walked, but Jared Weinstock grounded into a double play to end the inning.
After Cathcart retired the Vikings in order in the bottom of the first, Malibu pushed across a run in the top of the second. Justin Hale led off with a single to right. With Jacob Perrin at the plate, Hale moved over to second on a wild pitch. Perrin hit a grounder back to pitcher Zach Kaplan. Hale broke for third and would have been thrown out, but Kaplan's throw to third baseman Ben Schwartz was high allowing Hale to slide in under Schwartz's tag. With runners on first and third, Nate Schoenbrun singled to left to drive in Hale with the first Malibu run. Schoenbrun stole second with Sean Conrad at the plate. Conrad then lined out to short for the first out of the inning. Tony Gwyn follwed with a bunt back to the pitcher who flipped the ball to catcher Aaron Hassel in plenty of time to get Perrin trying to score. The inning ended when Greg Kernodle lined out to second baseman Tyler Johnson.
Campbell Hall tied the game in the bottom of the second. After retiring the first two Vikings hitters on ground balls to Kernodle at second, Cathcart hit Johnson with a pitch. A balk moved Johnson to second and he scored when Tyler Winther singled to left center. An errant throw from the outfield allowed Winther to move to second, but Cathcart retired Paul Maler on another groundout to second to end the inning with the scored tied, 1-1.
The Sharks added three more runs and seemed poised to pull away from Campbell Hall in the third inning. Dispenza led off with his second base hit of the game. After a wild pitch advanced Dispenza to second, Williams lined a single into left field. With runners on the corners, Jared Weinstock singled to right to knock in Dispenza. Hale then bunted Williams and Weinstock over to second and third. Perrin followed with a single to left to drive in Williams and advance Weinstock to third. In a replay of the previous inning, Schoenbrun bunted back to Kaplan who tossed the ball to Hassel to nail Weinstock at the plate. With two outs and runners on first and second, Conrad singled to right to drive in Perrin. When Winther's throw from right rolled toward home plate, Schoenbrun tried to score. Hassel fielded the throw in foul territory on the first base side and raced to the plate in time to tag out Schoenbrun for the third out of the inning.
Staked to a 4-1 lead, Cathcart ran into some problems in the bottom of the third. After retiring the leadoff hitter on a grounder to Perrin at short, Cathcart walked the next two hitters. A hit batter loaded the bases with one out and a walk to Kaplan pushed across one run. Schwartz and Johnson followed with line drive singles up the middle to drive in the second and third runs of the inning. Cathcart escaped further damage by striking out Winther and inducing Maler to ground out to end the inning.
In both the fourth and fifth innings, Malibu put together a double and walk but was unable to score. Kernodle doubled deep to center with one out in the fourth. After Dispenza struck out, Kernodle stole third. Williams walked on four pitches and stole second before Weinstock flied to center to end the innings.
Perrin doubled deep to center with one out in the fifth. Schoenbrun followed with a walk, but Conrad and pinch hitter Dalton Abbott both struck out to leave Perrin and Schoenbrun stranded.
Meanwhile, the Vikings took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a solo homerun by leadoff hitter Greg Zebrack. Two line drives hauled in by Conrad in right prevented any further scoring in the inning.
Malibu tied the game in the sixth, but came away thinking about what might have been. Kernodle led off the inning with his second extra-base hit of the game. On a drive over the left fielder's head, Kernodle was thrown out trying to stretch his double into a three bases. The Sharks' next hitter, Jace Dispenza was hit by a pitch. With Williams at the plate and the count 2-2, Dispenza was thrown out trying to steal second. With two outs, a full count, and the bases empty, Williams drove the payoff pitch high over the left field fence for his first homerun of the season and a short-lived 5-5 score.
In the top of the sixth, Sean Conrad replaced Cathcart on the mound. Conrad struggled with his control, but struck out leadoff hitter Ted Rothenberg on a 3-2 pitch. Evan Haskell followed with a walk after Conrad ran the count to 3-2. Zebrack also walked to set the stage for Aaron Hassel. On the first pitch, Hassel singled to drive in Haskell. Zebrack moved to third, but Hassel was thrown out at second by Tony Gwyn when he tried to advance on the throw to third. With two outs, Matthew Cherry missed a squeeze attempt allowing Zebrack to be tagged out between third and home.
Trailing 6-5 in the top of the seventh, the Sharks threatened but failed to score. Hale grounded out to short to start the inning. Perrin followed with a walk and moved to second when Schoenbrun grounded out on a dribbler in front of the plate. With two outs and first base open, the Vikings intentionally walked Conrad. Gwyn then grounded to short for the final out of the game.
Overall, Malibu left ten runners on base. Five others were thrown out on the bases, three of them at home.
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