Jun 21, 2008

Reds handle the heat behind Wilkins, Lussier

By Greg Lydon / Daily News Correspondent

Temperatures hovered around 90 degrees at game time, but Redwood City pitcher Kevin Wilkins didn't let the heat stop him.

Grinding out six strong innings on the hill, Wilkins struck out eight batters to help Redwood City defeat Cupertino 6-3 Friday evening at Sequoia High School in Redwood City.

Wilkins, a relief pitcher at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton last year, will be a junior for the Gators in the fall.

Cupertino loaded the bases in the seventh inning, but hard-throwing right-hander Michael Lussier (SHP) closed the door.

Redwood City is 5-2 overall in 17-and-under American Legion play. The teams will play a doubleheader today at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino.

"The heat drains your body, so I knew I needed to work quickly today and throw a lot of strikes," Wilkins said. "I had my breaking ball working early, and I was spotting my fastball. Michael kept things interesting for me in the dugout, but he always gets the job done."

Cupertino starting pitcher Justin Rahn had an evening to forget. He walked seven, allowed five earned runs and was called for a balk in a bumpy 1 1/3 innings of work.

After Wilkins worked a clean 1-2-3 first inning, Rahn walked the bases loaded in the first inning. A pop out and fly out got the Cupertino hurler out of the jam as the Reds wasted a huge scoring opportunity.

"I was afraid that the first inning was going to haunt us," Redwood City coach Tim Goode said. "You never want to leave the bases loaded like that. It could come back to bite you in the end."

Redwood City didn't let its second juicy scoring chance in as many innings slip away in the second inning.

Wes Holland (Sequoia) opened the big inning with a walk. Spencer Myers (SHP) followed the good start by drilling a double to deep left field to put runners on second and third with no outs. Another walk loaded the bases, then the Reds starting placing some tallies in the run column.

A balk brought in Holland, then Raymond Brandt (Woodside) ripped an RBI single that was followed by another walk. That made the score 3-0 Redwood City.

Ryan Sakowski (SHP) capped off the offensive surge with a lined shot up the gut bringing across two more teammates to give Redwood City a 5-0 lead after two innings of play.

Pitcher Denny Sim came in for Cupertino and halted the Redwood City momentum. Sim retired 11 straight hitters while Cupertino chipped away at the Reds' lead, closing the gap to 5-3 after five innings.

"Their pitcher came in and did a great job for them," Goode said. "We had all the momentum, and he helped them get it back."

The Reds scored one run in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 6-3, then Lussier took the ball from a tiring Wilkins in the seventh.

"Kevin did a great job for us today, when we really needed him to eat some innings for us," Goode said. "The heat started getting to him in the fourth inning, but he gutted out two more innings for us and handed the ball to Michael."

Lussier walked two hitters and hit one with a zinging fastball to load the bases. The flame thrower got himself out of trouble with two strikeouts and a ground ball out to the shortstop to end the game.

"Michael throws the ball really hard," Goode said. "He gets his fastball up there between 84 and 85. That's the role I want to use him in, but he has to believe he's the best darn closer in the area."