Murray Silences Mater Dei Bats, Islanders Move To 3-2

Blink, and you might miss it. “It,” of course, being the fastball of Coronado senior and University of California Berkley commit Max Murray.

The right-hander was on his A-game as he led the Islanders to their third victory of the season as they disposed of Mater Dei with ease by the final of 11-1.

“We played a complete game all around,” said Islander Head Coach Morgan Cummins. “Offensively, we had some of our best approaches of the season, while on the mound, Max threw the ball extremely well for us.”

On the bump, the previously mentioned Murray tossed four clean and dominant innings. As he sprinkled five strikeouts over four innings of shutout ball. Murray’s fastball was also on full display, as he uncorked multiple 90+ MPH fastballs in the afternoon to go along with his wipeout slider.

“Max’s stuff was very impressive as always,” said Cummins “When he’s on like he was on Wednesday, he is extremely difficult to touch, much less barrel up.”

Along with getting four impressive innings from Murray, the Islanders would also get quality relief appearances from Mateo Villanueva and Taylor Werth.

Freshman phenom Villanueva would again show why he is one of the best young pitchers in the state (yes, folks, I said state) as he worked two scoreless innings and fanned five hitters. While Werth worked one inning allowing one unearned run.

Altogether, it was another showcase of Coronado’s dominant deep pitching depth.

And as elite as the pitching was, as mentioned, the offensive side for the Islanders also did their job.

The 11-run effort was spearheaded by multiple Islanders, such as Chance Pettit and Jack Gould, who both tallied three hits on the afternoon.

But it wasn’t just the heart of the lineup that got the job done; 1-9 did a fantastic job of getting things are done as the Islanders also got multi-hit efforts from Colton Miller and Aiden Bayless.

“When we have the offensive clicking like it was on the day, we will be tough to beat.”

And while I’m biased, he’s dead on. What this Islanders team possesses has the potential to be incredibly special. The amount of talent this team owns, especially on the pitching staff, is rare. Like blue moon rare.

They can go toe to toe with the best teams in San Diego County; see their games vs. Grossmont and Eastlake, for example.

So if you’ve got the time, head down to Chaconas Park for an Islander Baseball game. You’ll be getting a good show.

Coronado will be back in action with two games this week when they take on Francis Parker on Wednesday, March 15 before hitting the road to play Bonita Vista on Friday, March 17.

VOL. 113, NO. 11 - Mar. 15, 2023