Freshman Gabe Speier made an impressive debut as a high school pitcher, tossing four innings and getting the win on Saturday as the Dos Pueblos baseball squad defeated St. Joseph 5-3 in the Central Coast Tournament up in Santa Maria.
After opening the season with a 2-1 loss to Lompoc on Friday, The Chargers improved to 1-1. Speier gave up four hits, two runs (one earned) while striking out four and walking four.
“He did a great job for his first time out there,” said coach Nate Mendoza. “He got a little wild in the fourth but got a double-play ball with the bases loaded.”
Porfi Avila and Steven Reveles each had triples while Mike Spiritosanto and Josh Paden both went deep for DP. Mendoza estimated that Paden’s solo blast in the third inning cleared the fence by 100 feet.
Speier was relieved by Matt Soto, who tossed three innings of 3-hit ball in his varsity debut, striking out four and walking none. He struck out the side in the seventh.
Pitching was an area of concern for the Chargers heading into the season, but seeing Speier and Soto perform like they did was a big relief for Mendoza.
“It gives the whole coaching staff confidence in the bullpen,” he said.
The Chargers play at Cabrillo on Tuesday.
DOS PUEBLOS 5, ST. JOSEPH 3
Dos Pueblos…041 000 0 — 5 9 4
St. Joseph…000 201 0 — 3 7 1
Speier, Soto (5) and Salas. Reyes and Cauazus. WP — Speier (1-0), LP — Reyes.
2B — SJ: Holquin, Buchanan. 3B — DP: Porfi Avila, Steven Reveles. HR — DP: Mike Spiritosanto (2nd inn., solo), Paden (3rd inn., solo).
