Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Buccaneers record wild 13-12 win over Stroman

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Saturday, March 25, 2000

Buccaneers record wild 13-12 win over Stroman

By George Vondracek
Caller-Times
The game that had everything left Miller High School's baseball team feelling as if it had won it all.
   Home runs. Base hits. Extra-base hits. Walks. Wild pitches and passed balls. Catcher's intereference. Errors. Stolen bases. Disputes with umpires. Twenty-five, 29 hits. They all turned baseball scorebooks into a jumble of lines, scribbles and solid blocks of gray.
   But the Buccaneers utilized a chance to stake a claim as a early contender in the District 28-5A chase Friday night, scoring a back-and-forth 13-12 victory over Victoria Stroman at Cabaniss Field.
   Gabriel Ramirez's run-scoring, two-out single and the ensuing run-scoring error a throw to an uncovered third base capped Miller's two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh off Stroman reliever David Kendrick.
   "Strange is right,'' Miller coach Mike Cantu said, assessing the night's events. "It was a typical Stroman-Miller game. That's the way we've played against them the last few times."
   The victory keeps Miller (2-1 district, 7-8 overall) in the upper half of the 28-5A standings. Meanwhile, Stroman, one of the preseason favorties for a playoff spot, dips to 2-2 in district and 13-5 overall.
   "For them, they know we can win,'' Cantu said. "We beat a real good baseball team. When we go out, our goal is to win and make the playoffs. To get the kids to play that way, we tell them before every game to play the game like it's special and like it's for the district championship.''
   The Bucs nearly ran themselves out of the seventh. Hector Plata was picked off second by Stroman catchewr John Beckner for the first out of the inning. But Dexter Rhines, who had four hits, delivered a single to put two men on. Kendrick (2-4) fanned Derek Ramos but, after fouling off two 3-2 pitches, Ramirez singled to center, scoring his brother Adam. Stroman center fielder Phillip Valenzuela fired the ball to third, which was left uncovered by Manuel Gonzalez. The ball bounded off the retaining wall near the Buccaneers, barely missing several jubilant Miller players, and the speedy Rhines raced home with the winning run.
   "This just picks us up really good,'' said Gabriel Ramirez, who also had three other RBI and a two-run home run. "To come back and win a game like this just picks us way up.''
   "The kids battled the whole time. Both teams,'' Stroman coach Ralph Escalona said. "It's too bad they had the last at-bat.
   "It's got to end some way," he said. "It's either gonna end with a good pitching performance or a good hitting performance. They made the baserunning mistake out there, but pat them on the back. They made the play."
   A four-run sixth inning finally put Stroman into the lead. It chased Miller starting pitcher Raul Esparza, who pitched better than his line would indicate. But it was Gabriel Ramirez (3-1), who allowed Phillip Valenzuela's RBI triple that gave the Raiders a 12-11 lead.
   Until the Miller seventh capped the wacky ballgame.

   Victoria Stroman 030 234 0--12 15 3
   Miller 013 421 2--13 14 3
   Two out when winning run scored
   Jason Fillmore, Clayton Meyer (3), David Kendrick (5) and John Beckner. Raul Esparza, Gabriel Ramirez (6) and Adam Ramirez. W-G. Ramirez (3-1). L-Kendrick (2-4). HR-Miller, G. Ramirez. Records-VS 2-2 district, 13-5 overall; Miller 2-1, 7-9.
   Highlights-VS, Andrew Alvarado 2-2, 3RBI; Chase Eads 3-3; John Beckner 2-3, 2 2Bs, 3RBI; Phillip Valenzuela 2-3, 2-run 3B, RBI 3B, 3R; Rene Rivera 2-4, RBI 3B; Noel Stange 2-4, RBI 2B; Miller, Joe Perez, RBI; G. Ramirez 3-5, 2-run HR, 4RBI; Manuel Robledo 2-run 2B; Dexter Rhines 4-5, RBI 3B, 3R; Derek Ramos 2-3, RBI; Adam Ramirez 2RBI


Staff writer George Vondracek can be reached at 886-3731 or by e-mail at vondracekg@caller.com

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