Pub Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 : Ryan Lambert

Canyon’s hit parade marches on

After playing coy for six innings, the Canyon offense decided to go out with a bang.

Instead it sounded like a sonic boom.

A 13-run seventh inning and a 14-strike out performance from Jake Coash gave the Cowboys a 17-1 win at Saugus Tuesday and put them in a tie for the top spot in the Foothill League.

Prior to Tuesday, the most runs the Centurions (8-2, 2-1) had allowed in a game was five. Until the seventh inning, Saugus only trailed 4-1.

Two home runs, four doubles, five singles and 13 runs later Saugus endured its worst defeat since losing to Hart, 16-0, May 1 of last season.

To compound matters, Coash only allowed three hits.

“A thirteen-run seventh really gets a pitcher pumped,” Coash said. “It one of our best offensive games considering we started off really slow.”

Kyle Zeiler and Ryan Pipho led-off the final inning with back-to-back doubles off Saugus reliever Luke Ajer. Things got worse quickly as senior hurler then plunked Sergio Almanzar.

Eric Ashbrook, who was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, drove sinking liner into left to drive in Pipho from third.

Ryan Burke picked up his first RBI of the inning when he short-hopped the fence in left for a double scoring Almanzar. Burke’s blast, meager in relation to a ball he hit later in the inning, was enough to drive Ajer out of the game after giving up three doubles and a single.

With no outs, Jeff Prindle took the mound for the Centurions and promptly induced Clay Britton to ground out to Josh Fogel at short. Canyon’s Josh Schreck was then given a free pass which loaded the bases.

Justin Schwartz lifted a fly ball to Saugus left fielder Adam Tripp allowing the fourth Canyon run of the inning to cross the plate.

Cody Leavitt, the ninth hitter of the inning, drove in Canyon’s fifth run of the inning with a single to right. The Cowboys’ designated hitter belted a two-run homer earlier in the game to give Canyon a 2-1 lead. The hit stood as the difference in the game for the better part of six innings.

“I was looking fastball. I’m pretty much a fastball hitter,” Leavitt said of his earlier home run.

The inning’s leadoff hitter, Zeiler, hit a bouncer to short which took a odd hop high over the leaping Fogel. The unneeded break resulted in another Canyon run. Fogel couldn’t handle Pipho’s chopper up the middle, however, and the bases were loaded for Almanzar.

The senior right fielder put Canyon ahead 14-1 with a grand slam over the fence in right-center.

“I don’t know what was keeping us from scoring in the first few innings,” Almanzar said. “We just got more pumped up in the seventh. We didn’t want this to be a close game.”

Ashbrook followed with his second single of the inning before Burke took Prindle’s offering well over the fence in center.

“That’s one of the biggest if not the biggest one we’ve seen all year,” Leavitt said. “That’s when you don’t turn around, you just look up.”

With a 16-1 lead, and Coash set to take the hill for the bottom of the seventh, Britton hit Canyon’s fourth double of the inning. Schreck followed with the inning’s fifth single which drove in the 13th run of the final frame.

“It’s more of a pride thing,” Almanzar said. “In past years, we haven’t lived up to others expectations. We hadn’t lived up to our own expectations.”

Coash, who went from focal point to footnote after the Canyon seventh, struck out the final seven batters he faced to improve to 4-1 on the season.