MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The Matthew C. Perry High School baseball team took the mound Friday and Saturday against Sasebo’s Ernest J. King Cobras at the Main field here.
The Samurai fell to the Cobras on Friday 12- 10 after seven innings but took the night to regroup and recharge and came out Saturday to return the favor with a 10-1 ousting.
The Samurai started off by shutting down the Cobras in the top not allowing a single run. At the bottom of the first they were able to find their groove but only able to earn one run before being retired.
The second inning saw a little more action as the Cobras with a few base runners managed to get into scoring position, but were unable to capitalize thus going back to the dugout with another goose egg.
For the Samurai it was the same as the first, making connection with the ball, earning hits, but still not able to put the numbers on the score board earning only two more to extend the lead to 3-0.
“One memorable moment was a suicide squeeze in the second inning by C. Jay Brysiak, who put down a perfect bunt that seemed to spark the team for the rest of the game,” said Vernie Jones, coach for M.C. Perry.
Once again the Cobras were skunked in the third as well as the fourth. M.C. Perry, however, managed to continue consistent hitting earning two more in the third before finally being shut down in the fourth with a 4-0 advantage.
Shawn Eagman, sophomore, pitched five scoreless innings before being relieved by Dims Wakimoto, senior. Wakimoto along with Hayden Miller, Austin Richardson and Ryan Schmidt are the leaders of the Samurai, who are relatively young with the majority of the team lower classmen.
“Our team has a mixture of younger and older players, and we should be competitive in all our games,” said Jones. Wakimoto closed the game allowing only one run in the two innings he pitched.
“Today was an excellent day. They only scored one run, so we did better than we did yesterday,” said Wakimoto.
Behind the excellent pitching of Eagman and Wakimoto, the Samurai managed to hold E.J. King scoreless until the top of the sixth only allowing one run for the entire game.
According to coach Jones, the biggest challenge for the Samurai is their pitching.
With the entire season ahead of them, they have plenty to be proud about splitting the series against the Cobra starting 1-1.
The Samurai may be a young team, but with the addition of first-year coach Jones and a few returning players, they should not be a team to be looked over.