CSM shocks the Hawks

Hart can hardly wait. He drove a 0-1 pitch off the fence in right-center field, driving in Brian Bianchi and Sean Wilson, who was so excited at the end that he almost came up short on his head-first dive into home plate. Once he landed, Wilson was mobbed by his teammates, the start of a wild celebration not seen at CSM in quite a while.

"It's just surreal," said Hart, who is referred to by teammates as the Hitman, after pro wrestler Brett "The Hitman" Hart. "This is what baseball is all about. It's something you want to feel over and over again. This is what you think about all season -- to get a game-winning hit in the playoffs."

If Saturday's action is anything like Friday's, fans from both sides are in for quite a treat. For four hours, the No. 6 seed Bulldogs (28-15) and No. 11 Hawks (21-21) were involved in a taut, four-hour contest. Cosumnes River took a 2-0 lead in the fourth only to see CSM tie things up in the sixth. The Bulldogs then took the lead with a run in the seventh.

Like clockwork, the Hawks responded. They scored twice in the eighth to retake the lead, but CSM made it 4-4 with a run in the bottom half of the inning. After Cosumnes River scored twice in the 12th off a home run from David Freitas, things looked bleak for the home side.

"After they went up by two there we were a little deflated," Bulldogs manager Doug Williams said.

But CSM wasn't out of it, not by a long shot. In the bottom half, Kainoa Klask led off with a walk. One out later, pinch hitter Max Marin was hit by a pitch before being lifted for pinch runner Bianchi. Hawks pitcher Scott Heinig struck out Logan Freethy, and CSM was down to its last out. The next play was key. Wilson, who had a superb game, hit a ground ball to second baseman Miguel Rubio, whose throw to first was off line.

That allowed Klask to score to make it 6-5, and put runners at first and second. Hart came to the plate and was due. In his previous five plate appearances, he struck out three times, grounded out and walked. But Hart erased any frustration when he drove an 0-1 fastball deep to right-center, putting the finishing touches on one of the more thrilling games in recent CSM playoff history.

"I got a pitch right where I looked to drive it," Hart said. "Everything went according to plan. What can you say? Their starter was the best pitcher we've seen all season by far, and he shut us down. But we kept on battling and grinding our way through it."

Said Williams: "This game had everything you wanted in a playoff game."

And more. In between the first and last pitch there were highlight-reel defensive plays, clutch hitting, excellent pitching, bang-bang plays and close calls. Wilson made three outstanding defensive plays at second base, and for good measure, produced another gem late in the game when he shifted to third. In the second, he went to his right to field a grounder up the middle, then in one motion jumped up and threw the runner out at first, a Major League-type play.

He made a similar play in the seventh. In the fourth he covered some big-time real estate by running to field a grounder near first base. With very little time, Wilson scooped the ball and in one motion flipped it to pitcher Zac Bischoff at first for the out. Then in the 10th Wilson fielded a slow grounder at third and bare-handed the ball before throwing out the runner at first.

But it was shortstop Freethy who drew oohs and ahhs when he somehow snatched a screaming liner in the ninth to quell a Hawks' scoring threat.

Both teams will remember this one for entirely different reasons. Cosumnes River was absolutely stunned with the turn of events, while CSM will remember the couple of critical plays that made the difference.

In the sixth, the Bulldogs finally got to Hawks starter Mike Hacker, who was doing a good job of mowing down the CSM lineup. Hacker struck out six of CSM's first nine batters and had retired 14 in a row while working on a one-hitter before Beau Witsoe led off the sixth with a double. Evan Warner walked and Freethy laid down a sacrifice bunt that advanced the runners.

Wilson then hit a slow-rolling grounder down the third-base line that somehow -- miraculously even? -- stayed fair, stopping just inside the white fair-foul line. Moments later Witsoe scored on a wild pitch and Hart followed with a groundout RBI to tie the game at 2. In the seventh, the Bulldogs had runners on at first and third with one out when Witsoe hit a grounder to shortstop Josh Powers.

It looked like a potential inning-ending double play ball, but Alex Gardner, who was on first, was running on the play. Instead of a rally killer, pinch runner Dominic Quilici scored, giving CSM a 3-2 advantage. The Bulldogs won despite getting out-hit 12-6. Bischoff started and went seven solid innings, allowing one earned run. Tim Busbin pitched the final five innings in relief, yielding two runs and earning the victory.

Despite the good vibes afterwards, Williams realized his team's mission is far from done. He only needs to look back at the last two years to realize that and hope history doesn't repeat. CSM was in this exact same situation, having won the first game but losing the final two in heartbreaking fashion. So the question remains, can they close the deal this time?

"There's no doubt in my mind we can," Hart said. "You're never going to put us away."

Contact Emanuel Lee at emanuel@smdailyjournal.com, or (650) 344 5200, ext. 109.