MorganHillTimes.com | Mudcats rebound to split with Menlo Park

Mudcats rebound to split with Menlo Park

Jun 30, 2009
- Staff Reports

MORGAN HILL -- Fresh off a derailing five-game road trip, the Morgan Hill Mudcats managed to split Sunday's doubleheader with the Menlo Park Legends.

The Mudcats trailed 4-2 and were down to their last out when Jose Avila doubled home Rocco Costanza, and Matt Madeiros drove in James Molina and Avila on a first-pitch drive that bounced over the wall.

Costanza started the two-out rally with a single to left field, and Molina was hit by a pitch.

Madeiros pitched through the heart of the Legends' lineup in the bottom of the seventh inning to seal the win. He walked David Klein, who had four hits on the day, then struck out the No. 4 hitter and induced a game-ending double play.

Madeiros came in for Kevin Madeiros, who scattered five hits through six solid innings. The starter gave up two unearned runs in the first and two runs on one hit in the sixth.

Morgan Hill turned four double plays Sunday and received superb work behind the plate from Ben Fuller, Nick Bonfiglio and Madeiros, who threw out five potential base stealers.

Those couldn't lift the Mudcats in Game 1, though, as the Legends came away with a 3-2 victory. Jordan Newton scored for Morgan Hill in the first inning, drawing a walk, stealing second and crossing home on a single by Travis Molina. Teammate Danial Hall scored in the sixth on a Matt Morgan sacrifice fly after he singled, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball.

Avila got the start and went eight innings for no decision.

The Mudcats were coming off a tough stretch that began with a promising 2-1 win over the Sacramento Smokies. Matt Madeiros went the distance, surrendering three hits and retiring 10 of his final 11 batters.

After James Molina's double off the left-field wall, Jordan Newton tied the game with an RBI single. Jose Avila then scored the go-ahead run on a fielder's choice hit by Shannon Fernandez.

The Mudcats dropped the second game 3-2 -- but had their chances in the final inning. They put runners at second and third with no outs only to go quietly.

Travis Molina looked unhittable while pitching 2 2-3 innings.

"That kid was dirty," longtime Smokies manager Larry Manuian said.

Sacramento clinched it with its closer, a mid-90s thrower who was recently released by the Houston Astros organization.

Morgan Hill next had a three-game nonleague series against the Redding Colt .45s. The Mudcats were undermanned and overmatched, as Redding swept by big margins, 10-0, 9-6, 12-1.

"You can't play 27 innings in 30 hours with 11 guys and expect to win," Morgan Hill manager Ken Valencia said.

The Colt .45s are run by former Oakland A's pitcher Greg Cadaret and Baltimore Orioles associate scout Dennis Brugmanii and financed by select major-league players whose donations are match by the MLB Players Association.

"They had a 27-man roster with a 13-man pitching staff made up of four-year college students from all over the country," Valencia added. "It is the type of program that we aspire to become."

NOTES: ESPN baseball analyst Fernando Vina was a guest announcer for the series in Sacramento. The former St. Louis Cardinal and two-time Gold Glover was impressed with the play of Travis Molina at third base and pitcher, plus the pitching of Matt Madeiros. Vina told Valencia, "Those kids need to stay with it. They are definitely prospects." ... In Redding, Baltimore Orioles associate scout Dennis Brug was similarly impressed with Madeiros and Molina and, especially, the bat control, speed and athleticism of Newton. "This is why we travel -- we want to give these small-school college kids some exposure that they don't get often at the (junior college) level," Valencia said. ... The Mudcats will open a three-game road series with the Atwater Aviators for the Fourth of July weekend, then come back to Morgan Hill to face the San Jose Bay Sox on July 11 and the Salinas Knights the following day.