Cutthroats try to raid the Bandits

The Saratoga Cutthroats ran into trouble against the Rawlins Bandits on July 9 as Rawlins pitching limited Saratoga to only two hits and the Bandits won 11-0 in Game 1.

Saratoga attempted to make a comeback in Game 2 as they were able to knock in runs in the later innings. Rawlins however, made the big plays on defense just enough to hold off Saratoga.

Game 1

Rawlins pitcher Lee Maestas had a dominant performance with a two-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts. The Bandits hitting was on fire and they ended up winning 11-0. Maestas said it was great communication with his catcher. He also credits his infielders and outfielders for making the crucial catches.

“I tried to pitch a lot of strikes and my team backed me up,” Maestas said. “Our guys did a great job on defense. We made a few errors but we were able to get the win.”

Game 2

The Bandits took a 10-1 lead into the bottom of the 5th inning. The Cutthroats knocked in four runs and the score was 10-5. At the top of the 6th inning, Rawlins knocked in one run to make it 11-5. The Cutthroats knocked in three runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. The score was 11-8 in favor of the Bandits.

Saratoga prevented Rawlins from scoring at the top of the 7th inning. The Cutthroats had one more chance to pull off the win. Saratoga had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the 7th inning. The Bandits were able to catch a hit and stop the runner at home plate. The bases were still loaded with one out. Saratoga was able to knock in another run and that would be it. Rawlins got the two remaining outs and won the game 11-9.

Casey Jones, head coach of the Saratoga Cutthroats, said his team made a great effort in the second game. Jones credited Maestas's strong pitching in the first game. He said Maestas is the best pitcher his team has faced all season.

“The pitcher who threw for Rawlins in the first game is the best pitcher I have seen since I started coaching here a few years ago,” Jones said. “It is hard to beat him on any night and that's part of baseball. When you face an ace picture like him, there is not much you can do.”

Jones felt confident his team would do better in the second game. He said his guys did well in their attempt to make a comeback but it was too late.

“I said to myself there can not be two of the same pitchers so let's go after them in the second game,” Jones said. “We saw two normal guys we are used to seeing pitching. My team saved too much in the late innings and fell way behind. Our guys stormed back and if we had an extra inning, we could have won the game. My guys made a great effort in the bottom of the 7th inning but when you get too far behind you lose time.”

Adam McFarland, head coach of the Rawlins Bandits, said he was impressed with his ace pitcher's performance in the first game.. He said Maestas gives a lot of confidence to the team.

“Lee has been a big help pitching-wise for us this year,” McFarland said. “He throws strikes with speed and gives the people around him confidence each time he is on the mound.”

McFarland praised Saratogas's effort in the second game. He said the Cutthroats almost pulled it off but his team did a good job holding them off despite the errors in the late innings.

“Saratoga can hit well,” McFarland said “We gave them opportunities to hit and they took them like they should. Our pitchers, Fisher Murry and Tymlee Taffner, were throwing strikes like we wanted. Our team made a few mental errors contributing to Saratoga being back in the game.”