Coyotes Come Through in the End

WOODLAND HILLS -- Better late than never, at least that was the case for the Calabasas High baseball team Saturday afternoon.

After struggling to manufacture runs over the course of the first six innings, the Coyotes delivered when it mattered most, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh en route to a 4-1 victory over Granada Hills Kennedy in a Chatsworth Tournament game at El Camino Real High.

"We finally woke up,'' Calabasas coach Ed Edsall said.

Indeed they did.

Mitch Margolis started the seventh inning rally for Calabasas (12-11). He stepped into the batters box and laced a shot down the left field line. Not satisfied with a double, Margolis headed for third . Following an errant throw, he darted for home and scored to give the Coyotes to a 2-1 lead.

"Once I made contact, there was no doubt about where I was heading. Second base was the only thing on my mind,'' Margolis said. "Then, I saw my coach waving me to third, so I put my head down and ran hard. Next thing you know, I'm barreling for home plate. It was a bang-bang play.''

Things got worse for Kennedy (9-12)--much worse, that is.

With one out, Jordan Pollack drove a pitch to deep center that on any other field would have been a towering home run. He ended up with a double, however. Pinch-hitter Dalton Saberhagen followed with a run-scoring double and Jordan Bass came out of the dugout and delivered an RBI.

Staked to a three-run lead, Margolis took to the mound and set Kennedy down in order in the bottom half of the seventh inning, similar to the way he had for a majority of the game.

"This was one of those spot starts for Mitch. We handed him the ball and he shut them down,'' Edsall said. "He told me he felt good before the game and he was strong from the get-go.''

Robert Gonzalez and Lazaro Campos had singles in the first and second innings for Kennedy, and Gonzalez homered in the third. Aside from that, Margolis was perfect.

The senior retired the final 14 batters he faced, highlighted by a pair of strikeouts to close things out. He gave up just three hits and struck out 10 in a complete-game effort.   

"I had a good bullpen session, so I was confident today,'' Margolis said. "Really, I think I made one bad pitch today and that was the home run. Adrenaline took over after that.''

Trailing by a run, Calabasas used some small ball to tie things up in the top of the fourth. Alex Rubanowitz led off with a walk and moved to second on a Jacob Fields bunt. Margolis hit a grounder to third, forcing an errant Gonzalez throw, and Rubanowitz crossed home plate to knot the score at 1.

In between, Margolis kept the Coyotes close. And it was a good thing because Andrew Hernandez pitched well for Kennedy. He gave up four hits and struck out seven in six innings of work before being replaced by David Streaty, who struggled late against the hot Calabasas bats.

"We were hitting the ball hard early in the game, so I knew it was just a matter of time before our things started falling,'' Margolis said. "One hit led to another. It was contagious.''