Aftershock Rumble Past Alley Cats
By Scot Sweet / PCBL Staff Writer
The Orange County AAA Wood Bat Championship included two teams riding win streaks into the season finale. The #1 seeded Alleycats swept the So Cal Heat to extend their streak to 7 games. The #3 seeded Aftershock swept the Wildcats to extend their streak to 8. Starting on the mound for the Cats, Choi Eun-Chul; and for the Shock, (a familiar face to PCBL Championships), Chris Hill.
Raymond Perez led off the game with a single and was followed by a sac bunt from Tomio Mack. This led Perez to score on Mark Paschal’s sac fly. Chris Hill retired the Cats in order, and Eun Chula came right back and retired the Shock in order. In the bottom half of the 2nd Julian Unruh and Eric Barber both reached on errors. Jjallil Sandoval had a timely single that scored Unruh. Dale Garret added the tying run with a sac fly, 2-2 tie through 2 complete innings of play.
Corbin Lack and Bobby Castro led off the next inning with walks. Chris Hill, whom usually has pin point control, faced a tough situation. Julian Unruh, the Cats clean up hitter, came up with 2 on & nobody out. Instead of bunting, Unruh elected to hit. The 2nd pitch was a pass ball that moved both runners into scoring position. Facing the heart of the order, Hill literally took the game into his own hands by striking out Unruh and getting Barber to ground out for the 2nd out. There were now 2 outs with runners on second and third. Sandoval swung at the first pitch and sent a "Seed Beamer" right back to the mound; knocking Hill of his feet. Hill quickly recovered, got to his feet and threw Sandoval out, saving what would have been the go ahead run. The Shock went down quietly in the 4th, and Hill struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning.
In the top of the 5th the Aftershock bats finally woke up. Andy Flores hit a lead off double followed by a single off Chris Haddad’s bat. Haddad positioned himself to get in a run down, with the hope of scoring Flores. The Cats handled it perfectly and tagged Haddad out, holding Flores at third. David Leos was able to hit a ball deep in the infield, scoring Flores making it 3-2 in favor of the Shock. Alex Gino singled, but was caught stealing for the 3rd out. Chris Hill continued to deal, taking down the Cats in order in both the 5th and 6th innings.
The Aftershock’s best hitter Izzy Perez stepped up to the plate with two outs in the top of the seventh. He dropped a perfect bunt that landed him safely to first without a throw. What followed would be a complete dismantling of the Alleycats. Flores doubled in Perez, followed by another clutch single off Haddad’s bat. David Leos anxiously swung at the 
first two pitches, fouled off a few more, and ended up walking to load the bases for Alex Gino. Gino responded with a double, scoring both Flores and Haddad. Teddy Heater came up to bat and drew a full count walk. Julio Morales kept the rally going hitting a double that scored both Gino and Heater. In his second at bat of the inning, Raymond Perez singled home Morales and Tomio. Mack capped off the 7th inning with a double that scored Perez. Hill once again retired the Cats in order for his fifth and final time, leaving the score 10-2 heading into the eighth inning.
The Aftershock's bats stayed hot as they put up another 2 runs with hits from Izzy Perez, Andy Flores, and an RBI single from Chris Goodenough. Alex Gino hit a sac fly to drive in his third run of the day, making it 12-2. Gino took the mound and relieved Chris Hill after his near flawless outing that racked up 7 K's and 0 earned runs. Gino followed Hill's lead and retired the side in order.
Going into the ninth, the Aftershock had the Championship in their grasp. Izzy Perez put the nail in the coffin with a 2 out 2 run home run that exclamated the Shocks hitting brigade. Chris Goodenough closed the game with a shut out 9th and secured another championship for this young team with a final score of 14-2. Congratulations to this years' AAA Spring Season Champion Aftershock for a solid season and a great Championship performance!
GAME NOTES: MVP honors go to the Aftershocks' starting pitcher Chris Hill who had a solid performance on the mound to hold the 'Cats to a mere 2 hits in this championship contest! His numbers:
7 Innings pitched / 2 runs on 2 hits / 7 strikeouts / 3 walks
Congratulations, Chris, on a gem of a game! Of course, we have to acknowledge the powerful Aftershock offense for putting on the Championship hitting display that they did; especially that magical 7th inning which put this game away! Here were a few of the top hitting performances for the Shocks:
Andy Flores 4 for 5 / 2 doubles, 2 RBI's, 3 runs
Isidro Perez 3 for 5 / Homerun, 2 RBI's, 3 runs
Alex Gino 2 for 3 / double, 3 RBI's, 1 run
Raymond Perez 3 for 5 / 2 runs
Tomio Mack 2 for 4 / 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 run
Chris Haddad 3 for 4 / 1 RBI, 1 run
