Following their first league loss to Moapa Valley on April 4, Boulder City High School baseball bounced back efficiently against 4A Bonanza with a 12-2 victory on Monday, April 8.
“I thought we played pretty well,” head coach Ed McCann said. “It was the first time all season that we were able to come from behind. I thought we reloaded, regrouped and focused after the Moapa Valley loss.”
Trailing 2-1 after the first inning, the Eagles erupted for five runs in the bottom of the second to put the game out of reach early.
Sophomore Joey Giunta batted 1 for 1 with three runs batted in, and sophomore Blaze Trumble batted 3 for 4 with an RBI and two doubles.
Sophomore Troy Connell batted 1 for 3 with two RBIs, while sophomores Matt Felsenfeld and Deavin Lopez each batted 2 for 3 with an RBI.
On the mound against the Bengals, Connell threw 3 2/3 innings of relief to earn the victory, striking out five batters and allowing no hits.
A key bounce-back victory after their emotional loss at Moapa Valley, the Eagles played soundly after several mistakes during the prior game.
“That was a very tough loss for us,” McCann said. “We just didn’t play well; we made five errors on defense. We start seven sophomores at times and with young kids, it doesn’t mean they’re bad players when they make mistakes. Every game is another chance for us to learn, another chance for us to get better and become a great team.”
Falling 7-4 to the Pirates, the Eagles attempted a come-back bid after a 7-0 deficit but were unable to capitalize.
Trumble batted 2 for 4 with a pair of RBIs against Moapa Valley and senior Jimmy Dunagan batted 2 for 3 with an RBI.
Experiencing their first share of growing pains as a young club, Giunta was charged the loss after throwing 2 2/3 innings, after allowing seven runs on five hits.
“I hate to use the word wake-up call because I think we’re better than that, but we definitely experienced some growing pains against Moapa Valley,” McCann said. “Young teams experience growing pains over the course of a long season. Sometimes you don’t always play your best; sometimes you come out flat. It’s my job as the skipper to recognized that early and change it. We’ll learn from this and move forward.”
The Eagles will resume their season Monday, April 15, in the Blazer Spring Bash.
Contact Robert Vendettoli at BCRsports@gmail.com.