SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA — The San Luis Obispo Blues (19-12) dominated every aspect of the game Thursday night as they took game three of the Arroyo Seco Saints’ (10-9) road trip by way of a 9-5 final score. 

The Saints’ offensive performance looked eerily similar to that of their last loss, especially in the first couple of innings. 

Blues starter Erik Kvidhal (Cal Poly) opened Thursday night’s contest with six innings of scoreless baseball. He only allowed four hits through the first six innings and struck out seven Arroyo Seco hitters. 

Saints catcher Jonny Garber (Arizona State) gave his hypothesis as to why Kvidhal was so difficult to hit early on. 

“His curveball was really slow compared to his fastball,” said Garber. “We were a little late on his fastball [because of the velocity discrepancy], so we would [either] foul [the fastballs] off, or we would chase the off-speed [pitches] low and away.” 

Unlike Kvidhal, the Saints’ pitchers had their fair share of bumps in the road in game three.  

John Iacono (Biola) toed the rubber in the first but did not last long. The Blues had runners on base early and often, tallying six total runs in the opening frame. There were no explosive plays, but walks and errant pitches plagued Iacono to begin play Thursday night. 

Long innings were more prevalent than the Saints hoped, trickling into their offense’s performance. Gannon Snyder (Transfer Portal) commented on how longer innings impacted his approach at the plate. 

“It gets tough sometimes,” said an emphatic Snyder. “It gets a little chilly here at night, [so] being out in the field for so long [and then] coming in and trying to hit sometimes can affect you a little bit and throw you out of rhythm.” 

Iacono only lasted one inning as Head Coach Aaron Milam gave the ball to Maximo Newhart (Transfer Portal) in hopes of keeping the potent Blues offense at bay. Newhart showed some flashes, but ultimately was not as sharp as the Saints hoped. 

The Arroyo Seco reliever lasted four innings, giving up three runs on five hits and adding five strikeouts to his stat line. 

When things get tough on the mound, the catcher tends to be the voice of reason on the field; Garber filled that role on Thursday night. He explained what his message to the pitchers was throughout the contest postgame. 

“Stick with me,” Garber shared. “[I told them] to keep trying to fill [up the strike zone] the best they can. [I also tried] to reset each guy, [telling them] to try and get ahead.” 

After Iacono and Newhart, the conglomerate effort from Masen McDonnell (Transfer Portal), Nolan McCracken (Transfer Portal) and Andrew Citron (Georgetown) tossed a scoreless final three innings for the Saints. 

As the pitchers began to turn it around, so did Arroyo Seco’s offense. Cody Turner (Lee University) opened the seventh inning with a double and was driven in by Snyder’s double. An RBI walk from Trotter Enright (Long Beach State) was the cause of the Saints’ second run of the seventh, trimming the Blues’ lead to 9-2. 

The Saints added three to their tally in the final two innings thanks to Garber’s two-RBI double in the eighth and a Jax Ryan (Missouri State) RBI fielder’s choice. In the ninth However, the late-inning effort was too little, too late as the Blues remained on top 9-5 after nine innings. 

The unfamiliarity of Sinsheimer Park, combined with relatively absent bats, made winning a challenge for the Saints as they were swept by the Blues. 

Luckily for the Saints, they have a quick turnaround as they host the Santa Barbara Foresters at Jackie Robinson Field Saturday night. The two teams will finish their earlier contest that was postponed due to lighting, and then will play their regularly scheduled matchup at 6:05 p.m. 

Contributors:

• Saints reporter Tyler Bowne (San Diego State)
• Saints photographer Bella Calagna (Trinity College)