Golden Eagles Survive Lobos Upset Bid

QUINCY--Feather River head coach Terry Baumgartner warned his team and Golden Eagle followers that No. 24 seed Monterey Peninsula would be tough, a much better team than their seed would indicate. 

Turns out he was right.

The Golden Eagles had to rally from behind most of the contest, lastly with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 8-6 breath taking victory over the Lobos on Thursday afternoon at the Eagles Nest.

The two squads will meet again on Friday at 11 am. Monterey Peninsula would have to beat the Golden Eagles twice to win the opening round series. 

It was a wild game, with 22 total hits, five lead changes and three ties. When it was all said and done, the No. 1 seed Golden Eagles scored twice in the bottom of the eighth and shut down the Lobos in the ninth for the win.

The game began with a bang for the Lobos. A two-run home run and an RBI hit put Monterey Peninsula up 3-0 before Feather River came to the plate. But FRC quickly answered with four runs of their own in the bottom half, thanks in part to a three-run double by Shane Danley. 

The Lobos scored again in the second to tie the game and took the lead in the top of the third (5-4). It stayed that way until FRC tied it in the sixth, but MBC took the lead on a home run in the seventh. FRC came right back with a run in the bottom half, tying the contest at 6-6.

Ian Hoslett came on to pitch for Feather River in the eighth and struck out the side, setting up his offense in the bottom half of the inning. Denton singled to open the inning, as did Jared Stevenson. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, Grant McGuire drove home both with a single to right field. 

With a two run lead, Hoslett went back to work and retired three of the four batters he faced to nail down the win.

Danley, McGuire and Kolt Kurzman had two hits each for the Golden Eagles. FRC moved to 33-7 with the win and Monterey Peninsula fell to 19-22.