LJ baseball 0, Country Day 7

Vike right-hander Nick

Hammel closed out a

stellar high sports

career. (Photo Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Starter Nick Hammel held it together through four innings, keeping host Country Day in check by allowing only two runs, until Torrey shortstop Carson Greene doubled two runners home in the bottom of the fifth. Then things deteriorated from there, as fellow senior Nick Ferenczy took over for Hammel on the mound.

It was the final game in any sport at La Jolla High for the pair of Nick's, who have entertained us with their skills--Hammel in football and basketball, as well--and embodied the values of hard work and dedication over the past four years.

In fact, Hammel's basketball coach, Paul Baranowski, watched his former guard/wing pitch his last game.

Their classmate, Dane Hansen, who will walk through graduation with them June 14, saw his season and high school career end five games ago with a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury. The first baseman watched from the bench. Hansen starred in football and baseball.

The CIF play-in game Tues., May 23, was bittersweet as the Vikings finished out their season, winning only one of their last 14 games, just a rough, rough skid. Their record, which stood at a mediocre 8-7 a month ago, plummeted to a final 9-20 during the streak.

The bats of Coach Gary Frank's squad, which seemed so full of promise at the start of the season, were silent before Country Day right-hander Brandon Nance during Hammel's stretch on the mound. So there wasn't much help there.

LJCDS Coach John Edman's ace allowed just one hit during his sparkling five innings, yielding only a single up the middle by Sebastian Partida in the second inning. Nick Ferenczy added a second Viking hit after reliever Liam Greubel came on for Nance in the sixth.

In all, Hammel, a hard-luck pitcher this year despite throwing well much of the time, was charged with six runs, leaving a runner, the Torreys' Colton Punches, on second when Frank replaced him with the score 5-0.

The senior right-hander was simply out of gas after 81 pitches. Nance was economical, serving up 59 pitches.

"Someone from outside could look at the statistics and think things were terrible," said Frank in the pregame. "We just haven't gotten the break we needed this season."

Said Hansen, watching his teammates warm up while he wore school clothes, "We need to play with a lot of energy. We need to have good at-bats."

Dane said he likes to play at Country Day's venue, "because it's like ours," with artificial turf. Even with a cooling breeze on a sunny day, the temperature on the field felt warmer because of the surface.

But La Jolla proceeded to struggle, going down 1-2-3 to Nance in the top of the first. Then the pitcher, who doubles as the Torreys' leadoff hitter, bombed Hammel's second pitch clearly beyond the temporary outfield fence to the right of straightaway center field.

Hammel got out of the bottom of the third allowing only one run after several hard-hit balls. Greubel, playing second base, singled to center to lead off the inning. After Nance hit another long fly to center, this one corralled by Cole Dimich, Jacob Frankel singled sharply to left. Then Greene drove both runners in with a base hit to center.

The Viking right-hander was able to get the next batter, Josh Howe, on a lineout to left fielder Cooper McNally and Punches on a groundout to Zach Sehgal at short to end the inning.

In the fateful fifth, Country Day scored five runs to break the game open.