The Blues Win the Battle of the North with a 9-7 Win over the Crawdads

By: Julianne Shivers/SLO Blues

Danville, Ca.- The Blues claim sole possession of first in the North collecting nine runs on 15 hits with six being extra bases. The pitching staff racked up 13 strikeouts giving up seven runs on 12 hits and four walks using five arms. 

Miles Mador was tagged as the Player of the Game after going 3-5 with 4 RBIs and a home run. Mador has been a solid force for the Blues at the plate slashing .524/.583/.762 on the season. Mador currently sits at fifth in the league in batting average and 12th in RBIs. With his first home run of the season coming in the first inning he credited Blues Director of Baseball Operations Vincent Regalado.

"Credit to Vinny, our guy," Mador said. "He took me through a good approach and what was expected."

Mador was also able to explain the energy from the team and what to expect moving forward.

"The Blues are hot," Mador said. "The dugout energy is unmatched compared to any other team I've been on and it's super fun."

Corbin Giesen was the winning pitcher on the night after tossing 3.2 innings allowing three runs on five hits with one walk and five K's. Giesen started for the fourth time this season and collected his first win in the process. 

The Blues face Walnut Creek again as they look for the sweep and to stay undefeated on their road trip. They will face the Crawdads at Monte Vista High School in Danville, California with a first pitch scheduled for 12:00 and Titus Gocke on the mound.  

1 | Devin James was the start for the Crawdads in his first appearance of the season. Moran led off the inning striking out. Chavez was the next Blue to the plate with a single to center. Comerford followed with a single into shallow left to have two runners on. Miles Mador collected his first home run of the summer with a 3 run jack to center. Ashlock grounded out to third and Blasi grounded out to short to end the inning. Corbin Giesen got the nod for the Blues for his fourth start of the season. Crawdads center fielder Peyton Rowles led off the inning with a single shot up the middle. Rowles then stole second and Alijah Ramos, the next batter, popped up to Kutter-Gage Webb at short. Ryan Ellis was able to collect an RBI with a double hit to left, scoring Rowles. Brandon Clizbe struck out looking and right fielder Dylan Perez grounded out to Moran at first to end the inning. 

2 | James went 1-2-3 in the top of the second. Suzuki, Webb, and Murillo went down with a fly out to right, pop up to third, and flyout to right. Giesen came in with a 1-2-3 inning of his own taking down Kevin Parker, Sutter Moss, and Barrett Ronson. Parker struck out, Moss popped up to Comerford, and Ronson struck out swinging to end the inning. 

3 | The Blues were able to score one in the this off the bat of Mador. Moran led off lining out to right. Chavez reached first taking a pitch to the ankle for a walk. Chavez was able to get into scoring position on a wild pitch. Comerford popped up to third. Mador collected his fourth RBI of the day with a single hit in the 5-6 hole. Blasi ended the inning with a groundout to short. Giesen came back in for the Blues in the third. Nine hole hitter TJ Woodson led off with a double down the third base line. Rowles followed with a single into right. Rowles stole second and with a mishandle by Murillo was able to score Woodson. Ramos flew out to center for the first out of the inning. Ellis walked for the third Crawdad to reach base in the inning. Clizbe hit a shot at Webb who snagged it, stepped on second for the force out, and threw over to Moran for the double play for the third out. 

4 | James stayed in for the Crawdads in the fourth. Blasi led off with a single into right and Suzuki followed with a single of his own over the shortstops head into left. Paul Wheeler entered the game for the first pitching change of the game. Webb flew out deep into center but was able to advance Blasi to third. Murillo hit a sac bunt right in front of the plate to score Blasi. Moran ended the inning with a strikeout looking. Giesen stayed in for the Blues in his fourth inning of work. Giesen was able to strike out two more Perez and Parker. Lucas Shannon entered the game for the Blues in his third appearance. Moss was the first batter he faced who doubled to the centerfield wall. He was able to advance to third on a passed ball. Ronson singled with a hit to right, scoring Moss. TJ Woodson doubled with a ball in the corner of left, scoring Ronson and making it a one run ball game. Rowles struck out to end the inning. 

5 | No runs crossed the plate for either team in the fifth. The Blues led off with Chavez facing Wheeler. Chavez drew a walk and was followed by Comerford drawing a walk. Both runners stole to be in scoring position. Mador, Ashlock, and Blasi all went down in order to end the inning on strikeouts. It was a 1-2-3 inning for Shannon forcing Ramos into a groundout at third. Ellis struck out and Clizbe grounded out to third for the last out.

6 | A new arm entered the game for the Crawdads in Wayde Mountz. The top of the sixth saw three Blues come across the plate on four hits. Suzuki led off the inning with a solo home run to left for his first of the season.  Webb got on base by way of a single to right and stole second. Murillo came to the plate and hit a double down the first base line and got to third on a fielder's choice at home. The Crawdads were able to tag Webb out at home to keep the score 6-4. Moran hit a sac fly to center to score Murillo and make it 7-4. Chavez doubled off the wall in center. Comerford got on base thanks to an error on Crawdads third baseman Parker and advance and score Chavez. Mador ended the inning with a pop up to third. Perez led off for the Crawdads drawing a walk. Parker drew a walk in his at bat and Moss struck out. Ronson drew a walk as well as Woodson to load the bases. The inning was over before any damage could be done with Shannon striking out Rowles.

7 | Mador led off in the seventh and struck out followed by a strike out by Blasi. Suzuki reached on an underthrown ball by the third baseman. Suzuki stole second during Webb's at bat and Webb drew a walk. Murillo scored Suzuki on a single hit to right. Moran ended the inning grounding out to second. It was scoreless inning for Carson Boyer, a new arm for the Blues, with Ramos grounding out to short, Ellis singling past Comerford and Webb, and Clizbe grounding into a 5-4-3 double play.

8 | The top of the eighth was led off by Blues centerfielder Chavez. Chavez struck out but was followed by Comerford hitting a double. Mador reached base with a single and got on second by a fielder's choice. Ashlock popped up to first. Blasi ended the inning for the Blues with a flyout to center. The Crawdads scored one run on two hits and one walk in the eighth. Perez led off with a single. Parker hit a double into right-center. Moss struck out. Ronson hit an RBI single into center. Woodson lined out to Moran who was able to get the tag out on Ronson for the unassisted double play.

9 | Michael Olsen was the new arm for the Crawdads in the ninth. The bottom three in the order were up for the Blues with Suzuki grounding out to short. Webb followed with a flyout to center. Murillo drew a walk and Moran doubled but Murillo was tagged out at home on the throw from the centerfielder during the pay for the last out. Joseph Gamber entered the game to close for the Blues. Rowles flew out to center to lead off. Ramos reached on a dropped third strike. Ellis hit a double into center, scoring Ramos, and Bryden Bull came in to pinch run. Clizbe collected his first hit on the day with a single into right, moving Bull to third. Bull scored off a wild pitch that advanced Clizbe to second. Brent Gallegos entered for the Blues and collected the save striking out Perez and inducing Parker to fly out to end the game.