The Score: Chabot 3, CSM 1.
The Star: Chabot College right-hander Brandon Plotz allowed 11 hits but just one earned run in a complete-game victory in the showdown of Coast Conference Golden Gate Division leaders in San Mateo. For College of San Mateo, left fielder Mark Hurley went 4-for-4 with a stolen base, but he was left stranded in scoring position three times on Thursday.
The Turning Point: CSM starter Clay Bauer (5-2) had repeatedly worked out of trouble in holding Chabot (23-9, 17-2 Coast) scoreless through the first five innings but the visitors finally got to him in the top of the sixth. Craig Massoni led off with a single—the fifth time Chabot’s leadoff batter reached—and then cleanup batter Scott Quinlan immediately followed by blasting a two-run home run to centerfield to put CSM (22-9, 15-4) behind 2-1 and knock Bauer out of the game. Plotz (7-1) made Chabot’s lead stand up with his gutty 135-pitch effort.
The Quote: “To have the streak like that, we’ve got to win the games like this. Certainly we’re not used to it going this way. But I think with this young team, it’s not that streak but it’s how we respond to those two losses going into the playoffs.” —CSM coach Doug Williams, on how his program usually ended up on the winning side of tight battles like Thursday’s in amassing nine straight conference championships, a run that now appears to be coming to an end.
What’s Next? CSM visits De Anza today at 2:30 p.m. in a conference game. Then the Bulldogs wrap up the regular season with a pair of home games against Mission and Gavilan next week.
The Bottom Line: The Bulldogs’ hopes of winning their 10th consecutive conference title took a severe blow as CSM now stands two games back of Chabot, with three games to play.
Notes: CSM, whose recent 10-game win streak ended with a 12-4 defeat at West Valley on Tuesday, now has a losing streak for just the second time this season. … Bulldogs reliever Josh Fredendall’s season-long scoreless streak came to an end at 31 innings with Kyle Gallegos’s two-out RBI single in the eighth. Fredendall, a Hillsdale High alum, entered leading the state in ERA (0.00), opponent batting average (.132) and hits per nine innings (3.81). … CSM took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Joe Goldenberg converted the back end of a double steal. Hurley stole second as Cody Zimmerman struck out for the second out. Goldenberg, who was at third, broke for the plate when the throw went to second. … Former Serra standout Justin Maffei had two hits. ... Menlo-Atherton alum Abi Arias had a pinch-hit single with two outs in the eighth. ... Chabot joined Solano as the only teams to beat CSM twice this year. The Bulldogs are now 2-2 against Chabot, with the road team winning each game. … CSM, which hasn’t been shut out, was held to one run for the third time, and first at home.
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Chabot 3, CSM 1
Chabot – 000 002 010 – 3 9 1
CSM – 000 100 000 – 1 11 1
WP: Plotz (7-1). LP: Bauer (5-2).
HR: Quinlan (Chabot). 4 hits: Hurley (CSM). 2 hits: Wik (Chabot); Maffei (CSM). 2 RBI: Quinlan (Chabot).
