Toads cripple Cate, 12-4
By Misty Volaski

Though Thacher's baseball team did a number on Cate last week, beating them, 12-4, Cate still made a significant chink in the Toad armor: they were the first team so far this season to actually score on Thacher.

In the Toads' first two games, they won 11-0 and 16-0; however it was Condor League rival Cate who broke that trend.

Which is not to say powerhouse pitcher Graham Douds didn't shut down the Rams' lineup. He, teamed up with the Toads' usual catcher, senior Brenton Sullivan, struck out eight Rams and allowed just two earned runs.

Both teams drove in two runners in the first, but that was the only time Thacher allowed Cate to get that close to the Toads in scoring. By the time Cate was finished scoring (they had one run in the third inning and one in the fifth), Thacher had already doubled the Rams' score.

The Toads went out with a bang, scoring five players in the seventh to wrap up the game with a 12-4 win.

Offensively, Douds swung the bat for a single, a double, a tripletwo scored runs and five RBIs.

"Graham is a leader at the plate as well as on the mound," said head coach Rich Mazzola.

Toad Lee Shurtleff connected with two balls out of his three at-bats, contributing a double, an RBI and a scored run to Thacher.

Teammate Sullivan was two for five as was Dylan Validez, who added a double as well as an RBI.

Toad Barret Brown went one for one, but made it count: his double enabled two more Toads cross the plate.

Thacher, currently 3-0 overall, will play at hom today against an unseeded Kilpatrick at 3:45 p.m.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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