The Signal : Saturday, April 20, 2002 : Ryan Lambert

Canyon gets one back

In a game defined by defense, Clay Britton’s well-place suicide squeeze down the third-base line in the fifth inning earned the Canyon baseball team its only victory of the season against Hart, 2-1, Friday afternoon.

The Cowboys’ win was underscored by Sergio Almanzar’s four-hit complete game on the mound. It came two days after Canyon was four-hit by Hart’s J.P. Slauenwhite. Almanzar, who struck out three and walked three, gave up a game-tying solo home run to Chris Steck in the fourth inning which proved to be his only falter.

Won Yoo, the freshman starter for Hart, gave up four hits through four-plus innings and took the loss.

Canyon (16-3, 7-2) got to the freshman hurler in the first inning when Ryan Burke drove home Eric Ashbrook for the 1-0 lead which stood until Steck’s homer.

Although the Cowboys hit the freshman hard, stellar defensive plays by the Indians (11-8-1, 5-3-1) kept Canyon runners off the base paths.

In the third inning, Almanzar, who walked and scored the winning run, drove a Yoo offering deep to center, but Hart’s Jason Brown robbed the senior of extra bases with a snow-cone catch at the fence. Ashbrook promptly followed with a whistling liner headed toward right field only to have it snared by a diving Mike Alvarado at second base. Burke was able to punch one past the infield as he singled to left, but Britton’s rope was directly at third baseman Todd Wilson and Canyon went away empty handed.

Yoo worked out of trouble again in the fourth after allowing a two-out single to center by Justin Schwartz followed by a walk to Kyle Zeiler. Ryan Pipho ended the inning when he flied out to Chris Valaika at short.

Both teams caught a scare in the fifth when Canyon second baseman Josh Schreck and Indians’ base runner John Curtis collided on a play in front of second.

Hart’s Danny Williams hit a slow bouncer over the mound on an apparent hit-and-run play. Schreck, charging the ball, violently collided with the on-coming Curtis. Both laid on the ground while coaches and players came to their aid. After 10 minutes, the game resumed and both players stayed in the game, although Curtis was called out on the play.

In the bottom of the fifth, Yoo walked his counterpart Almanzar to lead off the inning which proved costly and spelled the end of his day.

Jeff Icenogle, who had pitched five shutout innings in relief of Yoo the last time he was at Canyon, entered the game and plunked Ashbrook. With two on and no outs, Burke stepped to the plate only to become the victim of another Hart defensive gem.

Burke pelted a pitch bound for the gap in left-center, but his counterpart Valaika leaped and knocked down the shot allowing Hart to get a force out at second and saving a run. Valaika’s heroics may have spared the Indians disaster, but it couldn’t prevent the Cowboys from taking the lead as Britton dropped his textbook bunt down the third-base line.

Almanzar finished the game for the Cowboys and, fittingly, it ended with Burke turning the doubleplay at short.