Piedmont High School’s baseball team dropped its first three games at the Atascadero Easter Classic baseball tournament. The Highlanders dropped their opener, 15-0 to Arroyo Grande on April 7, then lost a pair of close games.
Piedmont managed just three hits in the first game, which was shortened to six innings due to the mercy rule. Jack Meyjes went two for three for the Highlanders. Max Fujimoto had the other hit.
Ruben Servin went three for three for the Eagles with three RBI and two runs scored. Jackson Ralph went three for five with two runs and an RBI. Maddox Richwine was three for four including a home run and a double with three RBI and three runs.
Grady Pope went the first four innings to get the win, allowing just one hit with three walks and two strikeouts. Ben Sorensen took the loss for Piedmont, going the first 3 1/3 innings, allowing eight runs (five earned) on seven hits and three walks.
Arroyo Grande, the visiting team in the game at Atascadero, scored in every inning and put the game to bed with six runs in the sixth.
On April 8, Piedmont lost to Lompoc 13-11 at Righetti High-Santa Maria. The Braves scored five runs in the top of the sixth to earn the come-from-behind victory. The Highlanders had scored five in the first to take an early lead.
Jonah Cha-Foster gave Piedmont the lead when he beat out the throw to first on a potential double-play grounder in the first. Sorensen followed with a single to make it 2-0. Massimo Mittone later doubled in two and Fujimoto followed with a run-scoring single.
Sorensen singled in another run in the second and Diego Delventhal doubled in two in the third. At that point, it was 8-4 in favor of the Highlanders.
However, the Braves tied it in the top of the fourth. Max Jones, Aidan Vallarta and Brady Barbosa each had RBI singles in the inning.
The Highlanders struck right back with three in the bottom of the fourth. Meyjes tripled in one run and Cha-Foster then singled him in. He later scored on a wild pitch.
That lead held until the sixth. Barbosa doubled in two runs and Reece Luna singled in the go-ahead run. A passed ball brought home an insurance run.
Cha-Foster took the loss, going 2/3 of an inning, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk. George Bishop started, allowing six runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks with a strikeout. Orion Sachs went 2 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on five hits with two walks and a strikeout.
Anthony Jiminez got the win for the Braves, going 1 1/3 innings while allowing no runs on one hit and two walks with a strikeout. Kasch Kubasiewicz got the save, pitching the final inning and allowing one hit and one walk.
Meyjes went three for three with an RBI and a run. Delventhal was two for three with two RBI and a run. Sorensen was two for four with two RBI and a run. Fujimoto was two for two with a run and an RBI.
Barbosa finished three for three with four RBI and a run. Vallarta was three for four with four runs and an RBI. Kubasiewicz was two for two with three runs and an RBI.
On April 9, Piedmont lost to Paso Robles at Paso Robles, 3-2. Talen Freitas singled Xander Hermanson in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win for the Bearcats. That spoiled a tremendous start by Meyjes, who went the entire 6 2/3 innings, allowing just two earned runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Jason Soboleski got the win, going the final three innings for Paso Robles, allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts and a walk.
The Bearcats got a run in the bottom of the second on a wild pitch. The Highlanders tied it up in the fourth when Lucas Delventhal singled in Fujimoto. Paso Robles went back up in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Hemanson.
Fujimoto drew a bases-loaded walk with no outs in the fifth to tie the score again. However, Piedmont got nothing more out of the rally, with Soboleski striking out Mittone and getting Enzo Ong on a lineout and Lucas Delventhal on a fly out.
Sorensen went two for three with a run scored. Fujimoto and Lucas Delventhal had hits as well as the Highlanders were limited to just four singles.
Emmett Dobroth and Jay Lopez each had two hits for the Bearcats.
Piedmont was scheduled to finish the tournament on April 10 against Nipomo. The Highlanders next game is April 15 at home against Bishop O’Dowd.