The Broncos Fall Just Short of Victory in Visalia

After a heck of a run, there was only one last hurdle left in the Broncos’ season: the CIF Championship. After two home playoff wins over the Kern Valley Broncs and the Riverdale Cowboys, the Lindsay Cardinals were the only team left between the Broncos and a fairy-tale end to the season. Junior Matthew Rosga got the start in the Bronco’s final game with these group of guys, and as he put it, “there’s no one else I’d rather be here with”. The boys held the Cardinals hit-less in the first, and brought a home a run in the bottom half courtesy of an error by Lindsay’s center fielder. The Bronco defense got right back to work in the second after Rosga gave up a lead off double, and managed to keep them off the board for the second inning in a row. The bottom half of the second saw the Broncos bring home their second run of the game helped out by a lead-off double by Mike Molina, but that was all they could manage. The third saw the Broncos stumble a little bit, as they gave up 3 unearned runs before failing to get on the board again in the bottom half of the inning.

After a lead-off walk and some high tensions after a hit batter, freshman Pitcher Landon Kruse inherited a first and second situation with nobody out, and managed to get out of the situation while only allowing one run to come across, but the Broncos bats went silent for the second inning in a row.

In the top of the fifth, Senior Justin Yates came onto the mound in his last appearance in a Broncos uniform and held the Cardinals scoreless, before the boys rallied behind him and scored two more runs thanks to a clutch 2 RBI double by Junior Jalen Watterson. However, Lindsay answered with a run of their own, regaining a 5-4 lead before holding the Broncos scoreless in the bottom half. Yates was then pulled in the top of the seventh after another hit batter, and got a tearful sendoff from the team as he walked off the field for the last time as a Bronco.

Junior Austin Thomas came on in relief, but the Cardinals brought two more runs home in the top of that inning. The boys weren’t going to go down without a fight though, as they rallied for two more runs as it looked like they just might pull it off. As the final batter of the game put the ball in play to short, the whole team held their breath in anticipation before their hearts broke as the first baseman squeezed the throw and Lindsay began celebrating.

Junior Matthew Rosga went 3 innings giving up 4 hits, 3 unearned runs, one earned run, and one walk. Senior Justin Yates went 2.2 innings, giving up 2 hits, 3 runs (all earned), and earned 2 Ks. Jalen Watterson went 1-4 with a 2 RBI double, and Lorenzo Parra went 1-3 with an RBI double.

After the game, the Broncos said their tearful goodbyes to their friends that most had played with since they were kids, as it began sinking in that that was really the last time they would all play together. I can speak for the whole team when I say that we will truly miss the seniors that we lost this year- Brodie Maloney, Lukas Diangelo, Justin Yates, Lorenzo Parra, Trevor Murphy, and Mike Molina- and we wish you guys the best of luck in whatever comes after graduation.

Baseball, Bronco Baseball, Broncos, CIF Baseball, Playoff Baseball, Goodbye Seniors