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Tigers stop the bleeding, win four of five games

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In a season that was slowly swirling into oblivion, the Globe Tiger horsehiders (5-13) have turned it around, winning four of the past five games, laying early groundwork for the 2019-2020 campaign.

The upward trend continued last Friday (April 12) when Tucson’s Santa Rita Eagles (0-12) came to town for a home and away doubleheader.

When all was said and done, the Tigers outscored the Eagles by a combined score of 20-6, giving a jolt of confidence to a pitching staff and defense that have struggled to find an identity in a tough season.

The early game was a home tilt for the Tigers and featured starting pitcher No. 13 Jace O’Connor, who’s been roughed up in previous starts, finding the strike zone early and often.

After a walk to leadoff hitter No. 18 Cameron Thompson, O’Connor settled into his groove, striking out the next three hitters, No. 11 PJ Chase, No. 4 Bradley Mauzy and No. 23 Austin Michael.

The Tigers wasted no time in the bottom of the first, plating three runs and taking advantage of an inconsistent pitching performance by Eagle No. 5 Josh Spatola, who had a hard time finding the strike zone throughout his start.

Spatola walked leadoff hitter No. 5 James Carrillo and then gave up a single to Tiger No. 3 Seth Durbin. An error on the single and a wild pitch put Tiger runners on second and third, and a walk to No. 24 Patrick Tarango loaded the base for No. 16 Seth Fane.

A wild pitch behind Fane’s back scored the first Tiger run, followed by another wild pitch and a passed ball to clear the bases for a 3-0 Globe lead with the only hit being Durbin’s single.

Spatola’s painful pitching performance continued with a walk to Fane, and then No. 1 Gavin Meeks was hit by a pitch. The Eagles were able to briefly stanch the bleeding, though, as they escaped the first down by only three runs.

It looked as if Santa Rita had some life in the top of the second, scoring a run to make it 3-1 Tigers. The inning started with a strikeout to Eagle pitcher Spatola, who went down fast on three ugly swings. Eagle No. 7 Daniel Endisch didn’t look much better in his strikeout, but O’Connor briefly lost his mojo, walking two batters and giving up a long single to No. 2 Brandon McCarthy.

A passed ball scored No. 24 Ruben Torres, but No. 3 Jesus Encinas was thrown out at the plate trying to score.

The Eagles completely lost their way in the bottom of the second; throwing the ball around the infield while pitcher Spatola continued to struggle from the mound.

The inning began with an error by third baseman Endisch on an O’Connor grounder, followed by a bunt single by Tiger No. 12 Michael Marquez. A double-steal followed by Carrillo getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases. What followed was a comedy of errors for the Eagles, who couldn’t seem to corral the ball, throwing it around the field while the Tigers scored three runs to make the score 6-1.

It did not get any better for Spatola, who hit Carrillo with a pitch and promptly threw a pair of wild pitches to give up Globe’s seventh run. After giving up another walk to No. 24 Jake Sukosky, followed by a wild pitch, Spatola was replaced by third baseman Chase, who enticed Fane into a groundout to second base.

A sac fly by Meeks and another wild pitch gave Globe an 8-1 lead, and it looked like there might be more, but after a walk to No. 11 Trace Hill and another hit-by-pitch to No. 33 Coben Oddonetto, O’Connor meekly struck out.

O’Connor made quick work of the Eagles in the top of the third, pitching around an error, and the Tigers scored three more in the bottom of the frame to make it 11-1 Tigers.

Durbin was sent to the mound to finish the game, giving up a run in the top of the fourth, but the Tigers scored in the bottom of the inning to qualify for a mercy rule win at 12-2.

Durbin pitched around a walk in the top of the fifth to finish out and rain from the clouds that gathered throughout the afternoon pummeled the field briefly before the second game — a home game for the Eagles — commenced.

The Tigers won handily by a score of 8-4, topping off one of the best days of Tiger baseball in the 2018-2019 season.

Next up on Globe’s waning schedule is a home game against visiting San Miguel (6-13) on Tuesday, April 16 (after press time), followed by a game in San Manuel against the Miners (13-7) on Thursday, April 18 at 4 p.m.

After that, three games remain in the season, against St. Augustine in Tucson (12-5 as of April 15); home against San Carlos (6-9) and finally Desert Christian (4-12-1) on April 24.

Second baseman Gavin Meeks snags a popup in the top of the third inning. 

Eagles second baseman Jesus Encinas (3) is thrown out at the plate on an odd double play to end the second inning.