Poly brought their big bats to Blair, but the comeback came up short in a high-scoring affair in the Wild Card of the CIF playoffs, as they fell 12-8 to the Corona Panthers. 

The stat of the night?  Poly walked seven batters and hit another two—four of the seven walked batters went on to score, and the second hit batter came with loaded bases in the top of the seventh.  It was just one of those nights.  “It wasn’t a lack of effort,” said Poly coach Toby Hess.  “Just a lack of execution…we went to war with our three best [pitchers], and just came up empty.”

Trouble started in the top of the first, when junior Tyler Maxwell took the mound and looked in command, getting a three-pitch strikeout and a soft grounder to start the game.  But two straight walks set up Ryan Fitzgerald’s RBI single, and the Panthers scored a second run on a passed ball, opening up 2-0.

Poly battled at the plate as they did all night, scoring four in the bottom of the inning to take the lead back, thanks to RBIs from Daniel Cook, Henry Severson, and James Harvey.  Both teams scored a run in the third, and Corona scored four in the top of the fourth to take a 7-5 lead.  The Panthers put a run across in the top of the fifth to make it 8-5, and it seemed they might have the game in hand.

A Jackrabbit rally in the bottom of the sixth put a spark in the crowd, after a bases-clearing 3 RBI double by Walker tied the game at 8 (he finished 3-3 with 3 RBI and a BB).  Jeff Turley was walked after that to put two on with one out, but two straight outs for Poly ended their scoring.

Bryce Robison hit the game-deciding shot in the top of the seventh, scoring Tim Hanks, who just beat the throw to home plate.  The Panthers tacked on three insurance runs.

Poly graduates just four players from their entire varsity roster (Trevor Kellogg, Nikko Santos, Eric Gonzalez, and Bryan Sanchez), but Hess wasn’t ready to think about the future yet.  “It’s always like a death in the family,” he said of losing the last game of the season.  “Because you lose the relationships you had with your seniors.  Yes, we’re excited about the young nucleus we have coming back, but I told them, it’s alright to be disappointed tonight.”