Rain-soaked Broncos fall to King City, 12-1

There was good news and bad news for Coast Union students, parents and other fans in attendance at the Broncos’ home-opening baseball game Friday, March 4.

The good news? Cambria Reds’ Little League coach and KTEA-FM broadcaster Gary Stephenson brought a big easy-up, which sheltered about 60 percent of the bleachers, keeping folks dry while the rain fell in steady — though not torrential — patterns.

The bad news? The Broncos were handed a 12-1 loss by the visiting Mustangs from King City. Coast Union head coach Brian Machado said he was not expecting a perfect game from his very young team (five freshmen, five sophomores, four juniors and two seniors), and he certainly didn’t get one.

There were several miscues and errors. But Machado said, “Our pitchers got some experience, and overall we did OK for our first game.”

The only run for Coast Union was scored by one of the two seniors, Lane Sutherland (the other is Cade Hollingsead). Sutherland smashed a ball deep into right-center field and slid in safely at second with a double, then stole third and came home on a ground ball by junior Jack MacKinnon. The relay to home from the Mustangs’ first baseman reached his catcher an instant before Sutherland arrived at the plate, but the senior slid under the tag.

Machado said if it hadn’t been raining — severely restricting the flight of the ball — Sutherland’s blast might have been a home run.

Shortstop Auggie Johnson made the outstanding defensive play of the game when he dived to his left to stop a hard-hit ball from going into center field for a single, then got up and fired home in time for catcher Sutherland to tag out the runner trying to score from third.

The Broncos used sophomores Chase Volz and Riley Kennedy on the mound; and at this early stage in the season (well ahead of Coast Valley League play), Machado expects his pitchers to get some experience rather than worrying about wins and losses.

On Tuesday, March 8, the Broncos lost to Tranquillity 6-5 in the San Joaquin Valley. Two runs scored for Tranquillity on a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Machado said the Broncos are committing too many errors.

“Defense wins games,” he said. “We can score 10 runs but not play defense and still lose. We see great potential down the road.”

Sutherland, Kennedy, MacKinnon and Johnson led Coast Union at the plate. On Friday, March 11, and Saturday the Broncos have home games scheduled against Washington Union, weather permitting.

If the games are played, those who can’t attend can hear the broadcasts on KTEA-FM (103.5) at 3:30 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday.

The broadcasts stream live on www.ktea-fm.com online.

This story was originally published March 9, 2016 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Rain-soaked Broncos fall to King City, 12-1."