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Preseason concluded today with the final scrimmage following an engaging Fanfest clinic hosted by the Cane’s pitching staff. If they sustain the effective pitching from last night, they could advance significantly into the postseason. The team finished their preparations with 6 1/2 innings of play. The two starting pitchers are competing for the midweek starting role and possibly a weekend spot, considering Tate DeRias’s recent struggles on the mound. Sebastian Santos-Olson and TJ Coats each pitched 5 innings to open today’s scrimmage. On Saturday night, the pitching staff dominated the offense; today, they showed increased resilience, reducing strikeouts from 25 to more balls put into play and runs scored. Defensively, there was a slight regression from yesterday’s flawless performance to some flaws today. Notably, the bunt, a strategic element not seen yesterday, reemerged as part of the team’s tactics. This is expected to be an important weapon going forward, and it’s hoped they will incorporate it more frequently throughout the season.
Sebastian resumed pitching where the bullpen left off last night, maintaining control over the hitters with a clean 1-2-3 inning. Michael Torres started the second with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Alex Sosa’s opposite-field single—taking advantage of the shift, a strategy I believe should be outlawed. In the third, Brylan West reached on a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice by Jackson Hugus, and scored on an error. Sebastian faced more challenges in the fifth, again due to defensive mistakes. After two outs, Watkins drew a walk, prompting Torres to bat. A chop in front of the plate led to an airborne throw by Alvarez to first, which sailed into the outfield, allowing Watkins to score and Michael to reach third. On the next pitch, he scored on a wild pitch. Though Sebastian is vying for a starting role, he struggled at times, hindered by defensive errors.
Similar to Sebastian, TJ had a quiet first inning after Vance Sheahan’s one-out single and being caught stealing by Alex. In the second inning, Alonzo smoothly rounded the bases on an opening walk, advancing to second on a wild pitch. The catcher appeared uncertain, throwing to second in an attempt to recover from the wild pitch, but the ball sailed into center field. The throw from center was to home, which the catcher’s wide throw to third aimed at catching Alonzo, who instead waltzed home. Two errors by the catcher and a wild pitch, not the defensive display a coach hopes for. In the third inning, a two-out double by Brandon DeGoti was left stranded after a groundout by Max Galvin. A one-out double by West in the fourth scored Williams, who had walked prior to his at-bat. Once again, sloppy defense led to errors and runs, a far cry from the flawless defense exhibited last night.
The remainder of the scrimmage featured each pitcher throwing one inning. Dylan Dubovik began the 6th inning abruptly after recording the first out. He then walked Derek Williams, followed by back-to-back singles by West and Hugus, which scored Williams. Defensive lapses continued in the outfield, with Greenhouse dropping a ball that allowed a second run to score. Dylan’s counterpart, Jake Lodgek, also faced challenges—he hit Galvin, then walked Sosa and Alvarez to load the bases. Michael Torres then hit a ball through the middle, driving in two runs and ending the inning.
Packy Bradley-Cooney, today’s closer, found himself in a jam, hitting initially Greenhouse and then walking Alvarez and Covet to load the bases before managing to strike out Cian Copeland for the final out, bringing the curtain down on the preseason. Next stop: Lehigh on Friday at 7PM
Offensively, Michael Torres and Brylan West were the only two with multiple hits. West and Brandon DeGoti each doubled, but overall, it wasn’t a strong return to their recent performance. The defense was the biggest disappointment, dropping from Saturday night’s stellar play to the flawed showing we’ve come to expect. Reflecting on Saturday night’s pitching and the past two weeks’ offense, we had much more to look forward to. Today, however, we took a step back after last night’s excellence.
They will have a week to prepare for opening night, which is expected to resemble Saturday pitching night, and the offense, which has demonstrated it has awakened from its slumber and is beginning to produce runs. Everything starts to count this Friday as they begin their journey to Omaha.
