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ARCHIVES SEESAW BATTLE DOESN'T GO TITAN'S WAY - 03/02/2008 The Titans began their Spring 2008 season under the sunny skies at Mt. Carmel High School this past Sunday. Despite the merging of 2 teams during the off-season, the team played very well together from the get go. The Titans pulled out to a 3 run lead in the top of the 3rd inning thanks to back to back RBI singles by the Titans’ 3-4 hitters, Wes Owen and Chris Lockhart. The Shockers battled back though in the bottom of the inning to tie the score at 3-3. This would be a recurring theme throughout the game. The Shockers scored once again in the bottom of the 4th, only to have the Titans add one of their own in the top of the 5th thanks to a fielder’s choice RBI from Ryan Rucker. Two more runs in the 6th from the Shockers sparked another rally from this gritty Titan’s club in their half of the 7th inning. After loading the bases, the Titans took advantage of 2 hit batsmen to tie the score at 6 apiece.The top of the 8th inning had the Titans take the lead 8-6, thanks in part to Sean Hockaday’s 2-out RBI single. However, in the bottom of the inning, the Shockers put 4 runs on the scoreboard to put the Titans in a 2-run hole going into their last at-bats. Patiently, the Titans managed their way around the bases with 3 walks and a hit-by-pitch to cut the deficit to 1 run. With the bases loaded, 2 outs and the tying run on 3rd base, the Shocker’s pitcher got Cameron Bocanegro to fly out on the outfield grass just behind second base. Final Score: Shockers 10, Titans 9. Although the opening game of the season did not result in a win, there were some positives to take away from the game. Sean Hockaday went 2-2 with 2 walks, getting on base in all 4 plate appearances. The team as a whole had 16 walks, but only 6 base hits, which in the end proved to be significant. Next week the Titans travel to Santana High School to play the Rookies.
TITANS SQUANDER 6 RUN LEAD! - 03/09/2008 Game 2 of the Titan’s season started with a bang. The team scored in each of the first 5 innings to take a 10-4 lead entering the 6th. The outburst was highlighted by Chris Lockhart’s 1st homerun of the year. Other contributions included Kevin Anderson’s triple and an off-the-wall double by Adam Cali. In the bottom of the 5th, with the Titan’s rolling along smoothly, Chris Lockhart laced a pitch over the left fielder’s head against the wall. Coming around 1st, Chris came up hobbling with a tight calf and was tagged out. This seems to be where the momentum shifted away in favor of the Rookies. Little by little, the Rookies chipped away in the following innings to take a 12-10 lead going into the bottom of the 9th. Again, the Titans’ mounted a comeback with the first two hitters, Rucker and Cali, reaching base with no outs. A perfectly executed sacrifice bunt put the Titans in place to tie the game with 2 runners in scoring position. Kevin Anderson lined a pitch hard to the right fielder, scoring Rucker from 3rd base. However, a drawn in outfield and strong-armed right fielder prevented Cali from scoring. Unfortunately, the Titans were yet again left with the tying run on 3rd base as the next 2 hitters were unable to get the run across. Final Score: Rookies 12, Titans 11. The Titans season has started with 2 tough losses, but they are improving. 10 hits this week, including multi-hit games from Chris Lockhart, Kevin Anderson and Adam Cali. Next week’s game pits the Titans (0-2) against the Reds (0-2). Let’s hope 3rd time/game is a charm.
13-4 VICTORY EARNS TITANS FIRST WIN OF SEASON! - 03/16/2008 Great defense steered the Titans to their first victory of the young season. The Titans proved they didn't have defective gloves by making only one ninth inning bobble. A strong pitching performance by David (short notice) Averill kept the reds hitters in check limiting their offense to only 2 runs over 7 innings. 2 DP's and some crafty escape work proved to be the difference as the fearsome red attack was continously thwarted by Averill's deceptive change-up. Ryan Rucker pitched the final 2 innings to close out the reds and their dwindling hope of a miracle comeback. The Titan offense was led by a reinvigorated Danny Gilson who had 3 big hits driving in a run and scoring 2. Chris (one-calf) Lockhart fueled a 6 run 5th inning by clubbing a 3 run blast, his 2nd homerun in as many games. The shorthanded Titans, many of whom not expecting to play because of storms, jumped on the reds early, by scoring a first inning run on catcher Lockharts rbi single. The reds rebounded to take a short lived lead in the 2nd inning by plating two runs on 3 hits. The reds idea of a bigger inning were squashed by the titans turning a brilliant 5-6-3 double play. The scrappy Titans responded with 2 runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to take a lead they would never relinquish. The titans potent offense is averaging almost 12 runs a game and they finally played a complete game. Other players contributing to the Titans balanced attack were Eric (Bat me last) Lockhart who had 2 hits and 3 rbi's. Steve Lujan added a hit and an rbi, Cameron Bocanegra had a hit, 3 walks and scored 3 runs, Eric Bocenegra and Wes Owen supplied a hit a piece and Hugo Flores added a base on balls. Averill also helped his cause by slapping a pair of singles and driving home a run on a sac fly in the big 4 run 8th inning, that basically put the reds out of their misery.
TITANS CAN'T KEEP UP WITH IRISH - 04/06/2008 After the Easter holiday and a rain out kept the Titans off the playing field the last two weeks, the rust was evident in their most recent match up against the 0-3 Irish. The first 2 innings, however, seemed to show a different story. Shane Hockaday doubled with 1 out in the first and Chris Lockhart singled him in 2 batters later to give the Titans their first run of the game. They loaded the bases with a single from Wes Owen and Steve Lujan getting hit by pitch, but were unable to push anymore first inning runs across. The second inning attack continued with a single by Lawrence Cohen and doubles by Adam Cali and Shane Hockaday to tie up the game at 3 apiece. This is where everything turned sour for the Titans as they would not get another hit until the 9th inning. Trailing by 10 runs late in the game, the team was able to push across 1 run in the 8th and 1 in the 9th thanks to back to back hits by Kevin Anderson and Hockaday. Shane finished the game 3-3 with 2 walks. On another positive note, after giving up runs early in the game, the Titan’s pitching staff held the Irish scoreless from the 6th inning on thanks to great performances from Hockaday and Ryan Rucker. They combined to give up only 1 hit and had 5 strikeouts. Final Score: Titans – 5, Irish – 13.
OFF BALANCE TITANS CAN'T FIGURE OUT NATIONALS - 04/13/2008 As 90 degree temperatures descended upon San Diego this weekend, the Titans team hoped it would warm up their bats. Unfortunately, they were not so lucky. Kept off balance by the Nationals pitching for most of the game, the team scattered 8 hits throughout the contest. In the 6th inning, the Titans were able manage across 2 runs thanks to an Eric Lockhart single, a ground rule double by Adam Cali and a bases loaded, 2 out, RBI single from Chris Lockhart. That hit from Chris shows why he leads the team with 8 RBI’s. That was all the Titans were able to manage on the offensive end however as they could never quite get another rally together. Cameron Bocanegro turned in a solid performance on the mound giving up 5 runs over 5 innings to keep the team within striking distance. In the later part of the game though, the Nationals ran away with it to give them a resounding win over the Titans. Chris Lockhart finished 1-2 with 2 walks and 2 RBI’s, Adam Cali was 2-4 with a single and a double and Tony Paez got his first hit of the season with a solid single in the first. Final Score: Titans – 2, Nationals – 14.
TITANS DESTROY CUBS IN 20-8 ROMP! - 04/20/2008 A pitchers duel through 5 innings turned into a blowout as the Titans scored 18 runs in the final four frames. The game was close and bordering on nerve-racking until the Titans exploded for 9 runs in their highest scoring inning of the year, they had 15 hits and were helped by a porous Cub defense who commited several errors. The Cubs tried to chip away at the lead and even closed to within 3 to make the score 11-8. But the resilient Titans would not allow the cubs to get any closer, as they erupted for 9 more runs in the ninth inning to send the Cubs home in a poor mood. The Titans were paced by Eric Lockhart who went 4 for 5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBIs. On the mound David Averill returned from a back injury and got the win by pitching 5 strong innings and limiting the Cubs to 3 runs (2 earned) and 5 hits. Of course Averill gave up a solo home run which is becoming common place as he has given up one in all three starts. He improved to 2-1. Shane Hockaday relieved and was rattled by the lone umpires' postage stamp strike zone. Cameron Bocanegra followed and after one inning of adjustment stymied the Cubs and retired the final 7 batters he faced. The Titans appear to have turned the corner and are poised to put a streak together. The Titans are formidable when all of their horses show up, and will win alot more than they lose if they play unselfish team ball.
BREW CREW POURS IT ON TITANS - 04/27/2008 Another hot San Diego Sunday had the Titans battling to continue their switch in momentum. After a 20-run outburst last week, this one started out on a different foot. The two teams were back and forth through the first five innings, with the Brew Crew scoring 1 in the 1st and the 5th innings, and the Titans countering in the 2nd 4th and 5th with 1-run innings of their own. The Bocanegro Bash Brothers had back to back hits in the 5th to give the Titans the 3-2 lead. However, in the 6th, the Brew Crew exploded for 5 runs. Tacking on 3 more in the 9th and holding the Titans scoreless left the guys with another “L” to tack up. The Titans scattered 8 hits, but could never get enough momentum for a big inning. Final Score: Titans – 3, Brew Crew – 10
PITCHERS DUAL LEAVES TITANS ON SHORT END - 05/04/2008 The arms were on fire today as both teams pitchers were able to keep the lineups in check for most of the game. The Chula Vista A’s scored 1 in the 3rd and 1 in 5th to take the early lead over the Titans. Held scoreless until the 7th, the team finally pushed across 1 run on an RBI single by Keith Baumgartner. 1 more run in the 8th came off the bat of Eric Bocanegra who laced and RBI double scoring Eric Lockhart. However, the A’s were able to add on a few more runs in the late innings to take game by a final score of 5-2. Despite having 12 hits in the game, including multi hit games from Eric Bocanegra, Chris Lockhart, and Eric Lockhart, the Titans were again not able to break out for a big inning against A’s pitching. The Titans mound combo of Dave Averill and Cameron Bocanegra kept the game close, but it was ultimately not enough. Final Score: Titans – 2, A’s - 5.
JAYS' POWER DERAILS TITAN'S COMEBACK - 05/18/2008 In one of the Titan’s best games of the season, the outcome did not reflect the overall effort of the team. The Titan’s came out a bit sluggish, spotting the Jays a 6-0 lead after 3 innings. In the 4th, the Titan’s cut the lead in half thanks to back to back singles by Chris Lockhart and Wes Owen and a sacrifice fly by Steve Lujan. However, the Jays fought right back in the 5th with two home runs to take a 9-3 lead. This is where the Titan’s brought in their secret weapon. Dave Averill came in to baffle the Jays with his Jamie Moyer-esque repertoire of pitches. This allowed the Titans to mount a comeback over the next few innings, finally tying it up with a 4-run 7th inning highlighted by a 2-RBI double by Adam Cali and RBI single by Eric Bocanegro. In probably the most exciting play of the game, Cameron Bocanegro stole home with the tying run on the catcher’s throw right back to the pitcher, sliding in just under the tag. Unfortunately the Jays would have none of it. In the 8th, a solo home run marked the only blemish on Averill’s 4 2/3 superb innings. It proved to be enough though as the Titans fell 1 run short of the comeback. Final Score: Titans – 9, Jays - 10.
GRUNDLES CONTINUE TITANS SLIDE - 06/01/2008 A 5-run 6th inning was enough to send the Titans home with a 9-6 loss and their 4th straight loss. The Titans were clinging to a 4-3 lead when disaster struck. Dave Averill was cruising along and had 2 outs and 1 man on when he started leaving his pitches up and gave up a walk and 2 singles and 2 doubles. He finished the game with 2 walks and a season high 10 strikeouts. Cameron Bocanegra came in and stopped the hemorrhaging. He worked the final 2 1/3 innings of sharp relief but the damage was done and the Titans could only score 2 more charity runs on poor grundle defense in the 8th. The Titans pounded out 14 hits led by Wes Owen who had 3 hits and 2 RBI's. Eric Lockhart again had a solid day at the plate with 2 hits in 2 at bats, to raise his team leading avg. to a robust .500. Newcomers Mike Thompson and Cesar Franco provided some spark by going 2 for 3 and 1 for 3 respectively. Dave Averill also added 2 hits. The following players also contributed one hit apiece;Adam Cali, Eric Bocanegra, Chris Lockhart and Ryan Rucker. Cameron Bocanegra had a pair of walks, and Steve Lujan helped with 2 stolen bases and a run scored. Final Score: Titans – 6, Grundles - 9.
TITANS WIN BY FORFEIT - 06/08/2008 The winless Indians had only one player show up Sunday and the Titans earned a forfeit victory. The season is quickly heading to a close and with only 5 or 6 games remaining. The Titans desperately need to put a winning streak together and they have their work cut out for them because their next opponent is the 8-4 Devils.
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