Bats come alive for Cloverdale

J.J. Jamerson came on in relief in the Bandits 13-3 win over Sonoma on Saturday at Cardinal Newman High School.

By Matt Hanlon

Wine Country Baseball.com

With all the offensive struggles the Cloverdale Bandits have had this season, a one-run lead less than comforting. But when the Bandits entered the bottom of the sixth with a 4-3 lead over Sonoma they aimed to change that habit.

Cloverdale (3-6) erupted for six runs in the sixth inning in a blistering 13-3 win over the Sonoma Crushers on Saturday at Cardinal Newman.

The Bandits put themselves on the board first with an RBI single by Jason Russell that scored Dan Grimes. Sonoma tied the game up at 1-1 in the top of the fourth when Jason Buhagiar doubled, bringing home Jesse Asher.

Cloverdale countered with three more runs in the bottom half of the fourth, including two runs off a triple by Nick Lupien. One batter later Grimes grounded out for the first out of the inning, scoring Lupien.

The Crushers (4-7) scored in the fifth inning, off a single by Scott Hernandez and again in the sixth after Asher tripled and scored on a single by Buhagiar.

But the six run sixth and then a three-run eighth inning for the Bandits squashed any thoughts of a comeback.

Russell was the man with the muscle for Cloverdale on Saturday. He finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs scored and an inside-the-park homerun. Lupien and Jordan Malcolm each had two hits and two runs scored, Lupien with three RBIs and Malcolm with two.

Lupien started, throwing five innings, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out five. Ned Betts and J.J. Jamerson combined for the final four innings.

For Sonoma, Jody Ray finished 2-for-5 and Buhagiar finished 2-for-4. Asher was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and was branded with the loss.