Freshmen Dons Baseball Sweep Double Header vs Clayton Valley

Volobuev with a key bases-loaded hit.

Game 1
Dons got right to business in bottom 1st, and got the bases loaded with a single from Jack Giorgianni and a couple of walks.  Aleksey Volobuev promptly cleared the bases with a scorching grounder through the middle, scoring 3 and ending up on 2nd.  This was all the offense Dons would need, but plenty more came anyway.  After another walk, Peter Thorn scored Aleksey on a single.  Dons really broke the game open in the 5th, when they batted around.  Sully Bailey got things going with a double, and scored on Kiran Foster’s single, Will Ellerbrock knocked in another on a single, Peter Thorn piled on an RBI single, Mason Zirkel ripped a deep fly ball for an RBI triple, and Jack Giorgianni hit a hard chopper for an infield RBI single.
The outcome of the game was not in doubt as the game progressed, as Dons pitching was superb.  Mason and Sully combined to pitch a 7-inning shutout gem, striking out 6 batters each.  Mason started and went 4 innings, giving up no runs, 4 hits and a walk.  Sully closed the game out by pitching 3 innings, and gave up just one hit and a walk.  Dons defense was solid, with only a single error committed. 
Will Ellerbrock had a great day at the plate going 3-3 with a run an a walk.  Peter went 2-3 with 3 RBIs.  Jack and Sully had 2 hits apiece.  Aleksey went 1-2 with 3 RBIs, two runs and a walk.  Mason and Kiran also had hits.  There was a lot of action on the basepaths, with mixed results: 5 stolen bases, 2 caught stealing.  When Sully struck out the last two batters in top 7th, it was Dons 10, Clayton Valley 0.

Giorgianni dealing to shut the Eagles down.
Cimon threatening on the base paths


Game 2
Re-energized by a BBQ lunch, Dons got it going early again.  After a walk from Mason, Sully hit a towering triple to center-right, and then scored on a sac fly from Kiran.  Clayton Valley’s pitching got stingier in the second game, but runs still came, albeit at a slower rate.  Sully manufactured a run in 3rd single-handedly, by reaching on an error, and then advancing and scoring on a series of passed balls.  In the 4th, Aleksey singled, advanced on a steal and a groundout, and scored on a single from Henry Garbo.  Dons had it going again in the 5th, when Mason and Jack Giorgianni singled, Mason scored on a single from Sully, and a walk loaded up the bases, but Clayton Valley defense managed to avoid further damage.  Sully went 2-3, and Mason, Jack Giorgianni, Aleksey, and Henry Garbo had a hit.
5 runs ended up being enough, because Dons pitching was stellar again.  Jack Giorgianni started and kept the shutout streak going, pitching 5 more scoreless innings, striking out 4, walking 1, and giving up just 2 hits.  And when Jack did allow an occasional base runner, he reeled them right back in with his nasty pickoff move, nailing two baserunners off 1st.  Peter Thorn finished the game off, throwing 2 innings, and giving up 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk.  Dons defense was stout, with no errors.  Whatever comeback plans Clayton Valley may have had, Peter snuffed them out by going 1-2-3 in the 7th, fanning 2.  Dons 5, Clayton Valley 2.
Dons will try to extended their winning streak, now at 5, when they host Miramonte for another double-header on Saturday May 15.

Zirkel throwing a gem in game 1 (while ‘ump’ focuses on the zone)
Bailey ready to crush at the plate