Toads defenseless
By Jesse Phelps

The Thacher Toad baseball team won't be making another appearance in the CIF Southern Section title game this year. With two shutouts under its belt in the first two rounds, Thacher looked to be an unstoppable force until it met an immovable object in the form of the Riverside Christian Cougars in round three.

Traveling for the first time in the playoffs, the Toads (15-2) suffered a 13-10 defeat on a day when a usually reliable defense committed nine errors and a potent offense couldn't overcome the yielding of nine unearned runs.

Thacher coach Rich Mazzola was surprised by the lack of defensive focus and said it was something that affected his entire ball club. "I guess we saved up our errors for that one game. I think every position had one error," Mazzola said.

The usually dominant Graham Douds, a junior who will have another crack at the title next year, suffered his first loss of the year in his team's final game. He pitched five innings, yielding only two earned runs, but 10 runs overall, before giving over the mound to Thacher's other ace, Charlie Munzig. Mazzola said, "I wouldn't say that (Douds) was in top form, certainly wasn't as dominating as in the first-round game. He was doing just fine, throwing pitches that they were making contact on. They were putting the ball in play and, unfortunately, our defense just wasn't there to support him."

One Thacher player who did come to play, on both defense and offense, was Tyler Caldwell. Caldwell went two for four with four RBIs and made what Mazzola termed "a great diving catch" in center field.
Caldwell drove in his first run in the second inning, plating first baseman Richard Smith from third. Smith, who had singled, moved to third on designated hitter Chris Willoughby's single. That run was the lone Thacher tally until the sixth.

Trailing 10-1 in the sixth, the Toads got a mini-rally started when Douds singled to lead off the inning. After a strikeout, Smith was hit by a pitch.
Douds and Smith then moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Cameron Robertson's two-run single lowered the deficit to seven runs.
But Thacher trailed by 10 again when it came to bat in the top of the seventh. Down 13-3 heading into the final inning, the Toads still hadn't given up. Thacher sent 12 batters to the plate in the seventh and mounted a charge before ultimately succumbing.

With one out, Sullivan reached on an error. Munzig then singled him to second and a Douds' single scored Sullivan. For the day, Douds went two for four with two runs scored and an RBI.

Dylan Valadez followed by belting a triple deep to left field, scoring Munzig and Douds. The rally continued with Smith and Robertson each drawing walks sandwiched around a strikeout. Caldwell then drove in three with his second hit of the day, a double. Leadoff hitter and second baseman Owili Eison walked and stole second. When Sullivan reached on another error, Caldwell scored and suddenly the Toads were within striking distance.

Munzig came to the plate representing the tying run and promptly scorched one down the left field line but Riverside Christian third baseman Mark Wedel nabbed what looked to be a sure extra-base hit, catching it for the third out to end the Thacher season.

Still, the seven-run inning made it more than respectable; Thacher had made one last charge to save a season that seemed destined to go as far as it could go. "We went out in a blaze of glory in what was not a glorious game," said Mazzola.

This represents the end of the line for five seniors. Munzig plans to play on the next level as a college freshman and Caldwell will attend Vanderbilt, where he will play soccer.

Perhaps appropriately, on what has become a close team over the past couple of years, Eison, Sullivan and Smith will all attend the University of Southern California.
© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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