You don’t need to talk to Clancy McCafferty for very long to understand he loves the game of baseball.
You can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.
That was especially true after Banning’s Mountain Valley League game on Thursday.
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It was a discouraging 13-5 loss for the Broncos but McCafferty turned the moment into a challenge for him and his teammates.
“We gotta talk and change things and we can do it,” McCafferty said.
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McCafferty noted that the Broncos produced a 10 run rally earlier in the season. If the Broncos can rally like that once, the Broncos can do it again.
“We cannot give up,” McCafferty said. “We had a 10 run inning. So I know we can do it.”
McCafferty made his first start at third base and made the best of it. He made a number of outstanding plays and after the game was named a team captain for his efforts.
“Clancy did a heck of a job at third for us,” Banning Coach Chris Reyes said. “We put him there as an adjustment and he did an outstanding job. He had some hot shots thrown at him and he was there. He made about four or five plays out there.”
Banning led 1-0 after one frame when Francisco Noriega scored on a RBI single by Miguel Medrano. The Broncos extended their lead to 3-1 in the third when Noriega drove in Isaac Linares. And the Broncos led 4-3 in the fourth when McCafferty scored on a sac-fly by Juan Garcia.
After that, however, Banning lost its grip. Citrus Valley took a 5-4 lead in the fifth and then put the game away with eight runs in the sixth.
“We were up 3-1 and then there were a couple plays we didn’t make,” Reyes said. “What that happened, it opened the door for things to happen later on.”
Banning ended up with four errors in the game.
“The problems we had are all fixable,” Reyes said. “We will address them and come back. We have a week till our next league game and in time I believe we will get there.”
A long talk between players and coaches took place after the game.
“This isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon,” Reyes said. “It isn’t time to panic. We will come back and I am confident that we will bounce back.”
