By Joshua Buckley
The Daily News Published March 28, 2009 LEAGUE CITY — For most of the school year, the first-year varsity Clear Springs sports program has beat up on rival Clear Creek. On Friday night, the Creek baseball team decided to get some revenge.
In a game the Wildcats said they had circled since the beginning of the season, Creek dominated the young Chargers with a 21-2 five-inning victory at Clear Springs High School. Creek (9-5 overall, 4-0 district) jumped out to a 10-0 lead before Springs even came up to bat and cruised to the blowout victory.
“We saw this as the beginning of a rivalry, and we weren’t going to let them do to us what they’ve done in the other sports,” said Creek first baseman Reed Gordy. “This was a game we had been looking forward to, and we wanted to make a statement.”
The statement was made early, with the first eight Wildcat batters reaching base and scoring. The entire Creek starting lineup with the exception of Jordan Lenaburg recorded a hit — and Lenaburg still scored twice in the game.
Gordy led the way, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Sophomore Zack Gibson scored three times and launched a three-run homer in the second inning, while Ethan Hughes drove in three as well.
Also driving in runs for the Wildcats were Dyllan McGregor (2), Ryan Gunhouse (2), Greg Olson (1), Steven Lopez (1) and C.J. McElroy (1).
Gunhouse started on the mound for Creek and struggled early, as the first four Chargers batters reached base. But after Springs had put two runs on the board, Gunhouse settled down. He allowed one base runner over the next four innings and finished with seven strikeouts.
“Several of our other sports have been defeated by Springs this year, and a lot of that has to do with their athleticism,” said Creek coach Jim Mallory. “But one thing a baseball can do is neutralize athleticism. We have some good baseball players, and of course the experience we have is a big plus.”
Mallory said he certainly understood what the Chargers were feeling like after the game. After all, Creek lost to Spring, 26-0, just three weeks ago, prior to the start of the district schedule.
Gordy said that loss has helped the Wildcats jump out to a perfect start in district play.
“That was the turning point of our season,” Gordy said of that loss. “The only way for us to go was up, and we’ve rallied back from that.”
Springs (6-12, 0-4) finished the game with seven errors and needed five pitchers to get through the game. A.J. Burts and Tyler Winfield did well in relief for the Chargers though, keeping Creek off the board the final two innings.
Springs coach Chris Floyd said he hopes the experience of Friday’s defeat can teach his young group some valuable lessons as they continue to search for their first district victory.
“The big thing is our pitchers learning that if you don’t hit your spots, you are going to get hit hard,” Floyd said. “And if we give up an error, we are going to be hurt by that. That’s what happens against good teams, and in this district, that’s who we are facing every game.”
Floyd was an assistant coach at Creek under Mallory for 11 years. Mallory said he has more respect for Floyd than he can put into words and was confident his protégé would be able to turn the corner with the Springs program in the future.
“I told him after the game that he is handling this a lot better than I could,” Mallory said. “That’s really important that he has a positive attitude and continues to keep his kids playing hard.”
Springs hosts Alvin on Tuesday night. Creek is about to be tested a bit more, with contests at Brazoswood and at home against Alvin next week.
“Confidence is a big thing in baseball,” Mallory said. “Hopefully that will help us with the big boys coming up.” {mos_fb_discuss:4}
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