Baseball vs Thacher
April 30, 2021
The Cate baseball team went toe-to-toe with rival Thacher on Thursday, April 29. Facing a 6-2 deficit going into the bottom of the 6th inning, the Rams rallied and capped off a thrilling, heart-pounding game with a walk-off sacrifice fly to knock off the visiting Toads by a 9-8 score.
After Thacher surged ahead with a 6 run sixth inning, the Ram bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs to get back in the ball game. After the Toads tallied one in the top of the 7th to make it an 8-6 game, Emmett Mack ’23 and Daniel Panadero ’21 kick-started the Rams’ offense by leading off the 7th by reaching base (Mack on an error and Panadero on a single). After some aggressive base running, Mack came around to score on a wild pitch. With Panadero at second, John Endres ’22 lined a single up the middle to bring in the tying run. Endres showed off his own speed and stole second and later forced the Thacher pitcher into a balk. With Endres on third, Declan Forest ’24 did his job and brought in the game-winning run with a walk-off sacrifice fly to deep left field.
At the plate, Matty Holmes ’22, Mack, and Panadero all had multi-hit games for Cate, including a triple for Holmes. Endres had a single and an RBI sacrifice fly and Liam Burdick ’24 had a pinch-hit single. Tyler Tom ’22 also had a bunt single on the afternoon.
Mack got the start for the Rams and went 5 innings and gave up one run. The right-hander also struck out 5 and yielded just three hits. Tom lasted 1 1/3 innings and Panadero came in and stopped a Thacher rally to keep Cate in the game. Aidan Carlander ’22 and June Bae ’22 both had solid games defensively. The defensive highlight of the game was a highlight reel, over-the-shoulder catch in the 7th inning from Cooke Tarleton ’21 that kept Cate in the ball game.
There isn’t much to say about this game other than “wow”. We had every reason to hang our heads and quit, but this group refused to give up and battled back. The heart and effort we showed in the late innings was inspiring and will hopefully springboard us the rest of the season. I’m so, so, so proud of this group. It’s always a great day when you can beat your rival.
The Rams look to stay undefeated when they travel to Ojai on Saturday to take on Ojai Valley School for a 2p start.