Stars shining in first place

By Nick Pellegrino
Special to East County Sports

POWAY (6-23-2017) – In a Greek phrase which dates back 23 centuries, the translation claims, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

“I don’t care how we score the runs,” San Diego State pitcher Austin Seidel explained.  “Just as long as we score them.”

Inartistic isn’t the correct adjective, as skill was involved. Perhaps atypical could be said more confidently. No matter, single runs in the 4th and 9th innings were enough to propel the Stars into first place in the Western Baseball Association’s South Division, nipping the previous co-leading San Diego (Poway) Crush, 2-1, at Poway High.

Seidel tossed 7 1/3 solid innings, striking out 10 batters. But when he got in trouble in the 8th inning by allowing three Crush batters to reach base, Mark Young stole the pitching show.

Young extinguished the rally with three strikeouts, then recorded three more in the 9th to give the Stars staff a combined total of 15 Ks in the pitching event of the summer season.

“May it was 20 *strikeouts — a lot of them didn’t have bats,” noted Young, earning his first victory of the summer campaign.  “Austin definitely had his stuff working today, making them look like they had the sun in their eyes.”

Actually, the field at Poway High is backward, with the sun playing into the eyes of the left fielder, shortstop and third baseman.

What seemed like a missed sign led to a run on what was supposed to be a squeeze bunt.

“(The batter) said he couldn’t bunt the pitch because it was too high,” said Stars owner/field manager Mickey Deutschman. “But that’s exactly why you want to bunt it, otherwise, the runner is out. The only exception is if the ball is in the dirt.”

However, the Crush catcher has difficulty getting a handle on the ball, allowing Jeremiah Barr just enough time to slide under the defender for a 1-0 lead.

The Crush got even on a single and double in the 4th, then gave the game away in the 90th.

After Dallas Seidel registered his fourth base hit of the contest, raising his summer average to a team-best .467, he moved into scoring position when y was walked.

The Crush then pitched too carefully to the Stars’ clean-up batter, Jeremiah Barr. Two pitches went into the dirt and off to the backstop. Each time, Seidel advanced 90 feet, scoring the go-ahead run on a 2-2 pitch with two outs.

“I’ll take it all day,” added Austin Seidel, who failed to gain the decision to remain a 2-0 record. In his last three starts, he’s allowed just three earned runs over 19.1 innings (a 1.39 ERA). “Oy was a great team effort, so I’ll be here all summer.”

First baseman Clayton Lewis batter 2-for-4 for the Stars (10-3 overall). Second baseman Shawn Knutson recorded the other San Diego base hit as both sides collected seven hits.

The Stars’ scheduled doubleheader on Friday with the Inland Empire (San Bernardino) Golden Bears, the co-leaders in the WBA North Division, has been canceled.

The club hosts the San Diego Reign in a twin bill Saturday at Barona, then hit the road to meet the West Coast Clippers in a Sunday twin bill at Palomar College Both start at noon.