Golden Knights fall in VIBL playoffs

Under a sweltering early afternoon sky on Saturday, neither the St. Francis High or West Ranch offenses ever cooled down.

But in a game characterized by a never-ending parade of walks, it was West Ranch that had the hottest bat, and Wildcats slugger Cody Howard’s solo home run in the bottom of the sixth — his third of the game — stood as the difference after a Golden Knights rally in the seventh inning fell a run short in a 14-13 loss in the second round of the Valley Invitational Baseball League playoffs at West Ranch High.

“This was definitely turned ... up a little,” said St. Francis assistant Buddy McNeil, who filled in for Coach Brian Esquival after he left roughly an hour into the game due to a prior commitment. “It was a great game.”

Evidenced by the Golden Knights’ enthusiasm from the start and their dejection at the loss, Saturday’s contest was clearly not you average summer fare.

From the first inning on, it was a game that saw plenty of hits, plenty of walks and plenty of pitching changes.

Nine pitchers in all were used between the teams, who drew 21 combined walks, with West Ranch taking 11 free passes. The teams also combined for 25 hits, with St. Francis tallying 14. In addition, three batters were hit by pitches.

St. Francis center fielder James Bonds, Jr. also took one for the team in the top of the seventh, but the umpire ruled that he leaned into the pitch. A pitch later and a Bonds foul out ended the game.

It was hardly symbolic of the All-Area selection’s day at the yard, though, as he threw out a runner at second trying to stretch a single and made an excellent falling catch in right-center field. In addition, Bonds drove in three runs and scored three during a two-for-four day in which he also walked.

Mark Saatzer and Andrew Hu each had three hits for the Golden Knights. Saatzer, another All-Area pick, had a pair of RBIs and a pair of runs, while Hu had three RBIs and a walk.

Hu began the slugfest with a two-run single in the top of the first.

West Ranch answered immediately, as Howard pulled a two-run dinger over the right-field fence, exploiting the short porch — it is 300 feet down the line — for the first time and tying the game at 2.