FanPost

Young Prospects Earn Team Victory

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The will to win. The collective skills of a 9 man team picking each other up and finding a way to win. Learning how to win, as a team, is a skill that is every bit as important to develop as bat speed, fielding range, or velocity. It’s more than heart, although that is one ingredient. Winning is easiest when all the simple things go well: good hitting, good pitching, solid defense leads to an easy 5-0 victory. But it takes resourcefulness, opportunism, performing in the clutch, and a sprinkle of heart to pull out a "W" when one or more components of your team has an off night.

On Friday night, the starting pitching had an off night in Eugene. Emeralds starter Aaron Cressley (26th Round ’14) was chased after surrendering 4 earned runs in just 2 innings including a three run home run by Giants prospect Christian Arroyo. The Ems trailed 4-0 going into the third inning.

Would these young prospects fold their tent and merely play the game for the remaining 7 innings? After all, defeat was all but certain at this point. How could this team overcome the early 4 run deficit when they had scored a mere two runs in the previous two games combined.

Step One: Chip away at the lead. Catcher Jose Ruiz (an international free agent signing) led off the bottom of the third with a deep double over the head of the center fielder. He would later score after a Joey Epperson single. Now the lead was down to 4-1.

Step Two: Tough bullpen pitching holding the opponent where they are to give the offense a chance to catch up. Griffin Russell, Payton Baskette, Sam Holland, and Seth Lucio each tossed 2 innings a piece. They held the Volcanoes scoreless over the final 8 innings striking out 14.

Step Three: Rally. In the fifth, Edwin Moreno and Michael Miller led off the inning with singles. Jose Ruiz reached again after an error on the Volcanoes shortstop. Another single by Epperson followed by RBIs from River Stevens and Auston Bousfield and the game was tied.

Now you’re caught up. The hard part is getting over the finish line and pulling out the victory. Joey Epperson (13th Round ’14) drew a leadoff walk to start the bottom of the 10th. River Stevens bunted him to second and Auston Bousfield moved the runner to third with a groundout. Epperson dashed for home when Volcanoes pitcher E.J. Encinosa uncorked a wild pitch and the game was over. Victory belonged to our young Padres. A bucket of water and ice quickly doused Epperson.

On Wednesday and Thursday night, two Padres pitching prospects (Michael Kelly and Zech Lemond) showed off the reasons that made them high draft selections. They pitched well. But Friday night was not about the individual performance of any one prospect. This group of young players proved to itself that it can win when the chips are down, when they’re backed into a corner early in a game. If they continue to develop that kind of heart, they will be the kind of Major Leaguers that make a difference to a playoff contending ball club.

This FanPost was written by a member of the Gaslamp Ball community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Gaslamp Ball staff or SB Nation.