After an amazing stretch of winning baseball, the Crabs were clotheslined and stopped in their tracks the weekend before last. After getting swept by the first-place Packers, they entered the week tied for the final spot in the Pacific Empire League championship series with the Lincoln Potters, from whom the Crabs had taken four out of six this summer. But the Potters and the Packers faced off twice early in the week and, unfortunately for our boys, that resulted in a sweep by the Potters, somehow putting Lincoln ahead of us by a game and a half in the standings.
Tuesday night, still reeling from getting swept by the Packers, the Crabbies desperately needed a slump-buster. Berkovich Honors, a team that sounds like a law firm, came to town and our boys took their angst out on them in game one. Cameron Sewell led the way offensively, continuing his amazing summer with three hits. Multiple-hit efforts from local Parker Rodgers, Keenan Morris and Michael Perazzo paved the way for a 9-1 win. Miles Oliver tossed five scoreless innings to improve to a perfect 5-0 on the summer, lowering his ERA to 2.89 and striking out seven while walking one.
The next evening wouldn’t be as easy. Adam Enyart contributed three hits and drove in a run, and Sewell led the way with four RBIs. Rodgers made his way around the bases and scored on a wild pitch to create momentum and walk the opposition off. Crabs win, 8-7. A huge weekend series loomed.
Friday night, the Crabs welcomed the Medford Rogues and came out swinging. In the first, the usual suspects struck again. Morris worked a lead-off walk and stole second base — he now has 25 stolen bases this summer. Sewell followed with a single. Enyart drove them both in with a double off the 394 sign in left center. “I hit it to the wrong part of the park; if I could have been a little earlier that ball would have been on the 101,” said Enyart. Liam Forsyth kept the momentum going, singling in Enyart two pitches later with a flare down the left field line. The Crabs put up a three-spot in the frame and seemed to be in the driver’s seat with ace Myles Standish on the hill and looking sharp. Things stayed that way until the top of the sixth. Back-to-back singles from the Rogues’ Christopher Ortiz and Jordan Marian put Medford in business. Standish gathered himself to get the next hitter, Johnny Alley from the Rogues. “I’ve had a lot of success against him,” said Standish, “especially because he’s left handed and I create a tough match-up for him, but I left one over the plate and I could see that he saw it early and opened up on it a little bit.” After a wild pitch put pressure on with the runners advancing to second and third, Alley connected for his first home run of the season, and we were tied at 3. In the eighth, the Crabs came firing back. Perazzo started the frame with a huge triple. Morris, whom I’ve started calling “the Honey Badger,” delivered again with an RBI single to put the good guys back on top. Sewell singled and stole second base. Then — guess who — Enyart connected for another RBI double, and the Rogues were in the Crabs’ rearview for good. Brody Jacobs continued his hot streak on the mound with three scoreless innings of relief in a huge spot to pick up his third win of the summer. Crabbies take game one 6-3.
In game two, the Crabs drew first blood with runs in the third and fourth to jump out in front 2-0. The Rogues responded, tying things up with two runs of their own in their part of the fifth, but things didn’t stay that way long. In their half of the frame, boom. The Crabs broke out, scoring six. Perazzo started things with a walk and Morris followed with a single. Then, Enyart again. The standout two-way star for the Crabs continued his special summer with another huge at-bat, singling home Perazzo and Morris, and the Crabs tacked on two more to put the Rogues away. Crabs roll, 9-2.
In a pivotal, must-win game, the Crabs got going early on Sunday. Two hit-by-pitches and a walk followed by an error got the Crabs on the board. Another hit-by-pitch chased the Rogues’ starting pitcher in the first inning, and the Crabs found themselves on top 3-0. The Rogues responded with two runs the next half inning and in the fifth they’d add two more to jump on top. Time was running out, and tension was building in the park. In their half of the inning, the Crabs sent their best to the plate. Two quick outs kept the momentum in the Rogues’ corner. But then, as in a movie, Sewell came to the plate and blasted his team-leading eighth home run of the season. The game was tied and Arcata Ball Park was rocking. The next hitter, Enyart connected for the biggest hit of the season, launching his seventh home run, and it was mayhem at the yard. Back-to-back bombs gave the Crabs the lead, but the Rogues didn’t go quietly. Medford tacked on one to tie things in the seventh. Morris doubled to start the Crabs’ part of the inning. Tyler Howard followed with a double of his own, driving in the Honey Badger. A Sewell walk followed by a Forsyth single kept the Crabs in business. Soares contributed one of the biggest at-bats of the summer. Soares singled to drive in both runners, and the Crabs were back on top. The Rogues answered with two more runs, but the Crabs would not be denied and fired back with two of their own. Max Hippensteel picked up his third win of the summer, and Brody Jacobs was solid yet again, picking up the save. Crabs win and sweep the series in dramatic fashion, 10-7. (Listen to the interview with Adam Enyart and Cameron Sewell below.)
But for some reason, after handling business on our end, the Crabs still needed a win from the West Coast Kings. “We all hung out at the park and watched the end of that game together. It was pretty cool to be with the guys when we saw the outcome,” said coach Jeff Giacomini. The Kings held on to beat the Lincoln Potters and our boys were in.
The Crabs will face the first-place Healdsburg Prune Packers in game one of the Pacific Empire League championship series Tuesday night at Arcata Ball Park. First pitch is at 7 p.m. Go, Crabs, go!
Brandon Dixon (he/him) is a former All American who played college baseball for Orange Coast College, Point Loma Nazarene and the Peninsula Oilers. Husband and father to two little girls, he’s also the host of The Brando Show podcast.
This article appears in ‘I Am an Artist’.
