The ball Vike shortstop Zach Sehgal
hit for a three-run homer in the
seventh. (Photo Ed Piper, Jr.)
By Ed Piper, Jr.
A teammate retrieved the baseball that senior Zach Sehgal ripped for a game-tying three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning Thurs., March 23, at Valhalla.
The Vikings went on to win the game in the eighth, so the ball was significant.
Sehgal was moving around the visitors dugout getting ready to go back out on the field when someone presented him with the ball. At first, he hesitated to take it. Then he said, "Yeah, okay, I'll keep it."
He walked over to the aluminum bench, lined with players' gloves, hats, water containers, energy bars, and whatever else the troupe from La Jolla had brought with them to this East County outpost. He placed the ball on the bench.
After the four-bagger, the former Mission Bay player was batting .400. That's why he's hitting in the third spot in the lineup.
After the four-bagger, the former Mission Bay player was batting .400. That's why he's hitting in the third spot in the lineup.
In a way, Sehgal's home run ball represented an answer to Head Coach Gary Frank's exhortatory question earlier when La Jolla went down 4-1 on a Valhalla home run: Are we gonna fight? Is anyone going to fight back?
He had discussed before the game the struggles the offense has been experiencing through a ho-hum, 4-3 start to the season. This extra-inning win, though come-from-behind, maintained the Vikings' pattern thus far of winning a game, then losing a game.
"Our defense has been keeping us in games," the coach had said.
This time, some key hits played a role in the final outcome.
"Our defense has been keeping us in games," the coach had said.
This time, some key hits played a role in the final outcome.
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