What we learned: 3 takeaways from Commodores' 10-6 loss to Northwest
PANAMA CITY — When Gulf Coast opened Panhandle Conference play last week with a 3-1 loss at Pensacola State, the Commodores responded by winning three in a row over the Pirates to take the series.
The Commodores will have to do the same this week following Wednesday night's 10-6 loss to No. 7 Northwest Florida State at Frazier Field if they want to make it two series victories in a row.
The Raiders (20-7 overall, 1-0 in the Panhandle Conference) hit two early home runs and scored seven of their 10 runs in the first three innings of their Panhandle debut to deal the Commodores (20-8, 3-2) their second conference defeat of the season.
Caleb Reis went 5 2/3 innings on the mound for Northwest to get the win, giving up
six earned runs on eight hits and three walks with eight strikeouts. Jacob Phillips
went 3 1/3 innings in relief to get the save, allowing two hits and three walks and
striking out eight batters, including two in a row with the bases loaded in the bottom
of the ninth to turn back a Gulf Coast rally.
Glenn Simes took the loss for Gulf Coast, starting and surrendering seven runs – four
earned – on five hits and a walk with a strikeout in three innings.
Tyler Borges, Ethan Lizama, and Kaleb Henry led the Commodores with two hits apiece, with Lizama driving in two runs and Borges and Henry scoring two each. Mason Dubose also had a double, two runs, and an RBI.
The teams were scheduled to face off again on Thursday night in Panama City before wrapping up the series with a Saturday doubleheader in Niceville.
Two-out terrors
The Raiders did the majority of their damage Wednesday night with two outs, scoring
two runs in the top of the first inning with two down before getting a two-run home
run by Cherokee Nichols in the second inning and a three-run bomb by Cade Easterbrook
in the third, both with two outs in the inning.
Northwest Florida State had eight hits and nine RBI with two outs for the night, which was a source of much frustration for Gulf Coast coach Tyler Younger.
"The big thing for us tonight is we couldn't get off the field with two outs," he said. "We tell our guys all the time that good teams get off the field with two outs, just like offensively the good teams are able to get two-out hits. We just couldn't get off the field with two outs, but kudos to them for getting those two-out hits. They were putting crooked numbers on us with two outs, so you've got to give some credit where it's due. But obviously it's a little frustrating on our end up giving up all those runs with two outs."
By contrast, the Commodores finished 3 of 11 with two RBI with two outs, and struck out five times to end an inning with a runner on base.
Still working out the rotation
Simes made his third start of the season Wednesday in his second appearance since
missing nearly a full month due to injury, making his Panhandle debut with just 1/3
of an inning in relief against Pensacola State last week.
He's the fifth starting pitcher in five Panhandle Conference games thus far for the Commodores, joining Sean Bencosme, Carson Dorsey, Charez Butcher, and Tyler Peterson, who started last week's games against the Pirates.
Gulf Coast pitchers have posted a very respectable 3.38 team ERA over those five conference games, though it certainly appears that positions in the Commodore rotation are still very much up for grabs.
"We're still kind of working on it," Younger said. "We're just trying to win one game at a time and whoever is left for the next game is who we run out there for the next game."
As for Simes, Younger said he had earned the right to take the hill in conference play following his two previous starts before the injury in which he allowed just two earned runs in 10 2/3 innings against John A. Logan and Calhoun.
"We were planning on starting him and then that happened," Younger said. "We figured the way some guys were pitching, Glenn had been good for us out of the pen earlier this year, so we decided to give him a spot start tonight."
No reason for alarm
Despite the loss, Younger didn't seem particularly concerned about his team after
the game. Offensively, the Commodores posted 10 hits, their highest total in a conference
contest thus far, while just committing one defensive miscue.
There was the issue of the 16 strikeouts and 10 runners left on base, but Younger said the loss was primarily a product of simply making a few too many mistakes against one of the best teams in the country.
"That's a good team, we made some mistakes, left some balls up tonight and they made us pay for them," Younger said. "That's what good teams do when you make mistakes and that's what they did to us tonight.
"But I thought we fought tonight, we had good energy and focus. I think we just got beat. We swung the bats OK tonight. I'm not upset at all about that. I wish we could've figured out (Phillips) at the end. He kind of stifled us a little bit. But I like where we're at, we've just got to get a little better every day and build off of what we've done the last few weeks."