Coming into the critical playoff-impacting match between Poly and Jordan at Gwynn Field on Wednesday, both teams knew a lot was at stake: Poly is in a three-way logjam with Lakewood and Wilson for second place, with all three teams at 4-3, while Jordan sits a half-game out of the playoffs at 3-3. With wins against Millikan, Wilson, and Lakewood always hard to come by, the ‘Rabbits and Panthers both knew they needed a “w”—both teams’ best pitchers threw outstanding complete games, but errors in the Jordan defense and some clutch hitting from Poly’s Kevin Nanbara were enough for Poly to win, 4-0.
Of the playoff race, Poly coach Toby Hess said, “Not to get too far ahead here, but this puts us in a really good position.”
Poly’s Mario Gordon had the slightly better day on the mound, throwing a three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts, as his mixed speeds kept the Panthers off balance all game. But it’s hard not to feel bad for Jordan’s Marcos Lara, who also went the distance and allowed four hits, striking out six. The Panthers’ five errors, however, didn’t match their pitcher’s fire, as the visibly frustrated Lara takes the loss.
It started in the bottom of the first—after Lara struck out the first Poly batter, Henry Severson reached first off a Jordan error. Then Gordon battled Lara for a dozen-plus pitches and got the walk—Nikko Santos moved the runners over to second and third on a sacrifice, putting two runners on with two outs. Lara dug deep and struck out Tyler Maxwell.
He got himself out of a few more holes, while Gordon mowed through the Panthers lineup efficiently, but in the bottom of the fourth Poly scored the deciding run. Jeff Turley grounded out to start the inning, then Terrell Kimbrough knocked a single. Daniel Cook popped out, and with just a runner on first and two outs, it seemed the inning was about over. When Kevin Nanbara hit a fly towards center, it appeared that it was, but the fielder misplayed it, scoring Kimbrough—Nanbara was tagged out at home as he tried to score.
Nanbara (2-4 3 RBI) scored two more in the bottom of the sixth with a nice single, and Kimbrough’s error single brought in Tommy Walker, who reached second on an error double, to reach the final. Gordon continued to work quickly and kept Poly from much real trouble—the Panthers had one good chance to score in the top of the sixth, with a runner on second and Lara, their best batter as well, at the plate. But Gordon got the pick at second to end the inning, and the Panthers’ chances.
“We can’t get picked off in that situation,” said Jordan coach Marc Prager after the game. “And we gotta score a run to win—but, we’re still in the playoff race mathematically.” (He’s right, and if they beat Wilson on the Panthers’ home field this Friday, they’ll actually be a half-game up on the Bruins in the race for fourth.)
“We put the ball in play, which is what we wanted to do,” said Hess. “And Nanbara just came through—that’s a senior leading the team.” Poly’s next game will be next week, on Wednesday against Wilson at Blair in the nightcap.