Skyline dropped its sixth home game of the season to Monterey Peninsula 6-5 thanks to three defensive errors resulting in four runs.

Monterey did have freshman starter Ryan Platero start on the mound opposite Burlingame High product Paul Ferrari, who went five innings in his last outing against Cabrillo, only giving up an unearned run.

Skyline second baseman Noah Marcelo was able to jump on Platero early with his 2-run home run over the left field wall, his first of the season.

“I was looking for a fastball, I saw that he (Platero) was playing me in, because they been seeing me bunting the past few games,” said Marcelo. “I was honestly just trying to get a base hit up through the hole, but I ended up poking one out.”

Platero was able to settle into the game following the homer with three consecutive strikeouts to end the first inning.

As for Ferrari, his best work came in the next two innings with runners in scoring positions. In the second inning, Monterey center fielder Gavin Jarvis landed at second base following a leadoff single and a wild pitch. After a groundout which moved him to third with only one out, Ferrari was able to strikeout the next two batters, keeping Jarvis from scoring.

Next, Monterey had runners at second and third with one out and Ferrari again pitched out of it with another strikeout followed by a groundout to second.

Despite having the four strikeouts, Ferrari couldn’t keep himself away from a quick inning as he hit Jarvis to leadoff the fourth. A double from designated hitter Jordan Crisp gave the Lobos another chance to get on the scoreboard. A nice opposite field single from Monterey Peninsula’s Ben Grigsby tied the game at two.

Defensive mistakes cost Ferrari as well, with Skyline shortstop Mitchel Plane having an unforgettable fourth inning with two errors, giving Monterey the lead plus an insurance run in back-to-back at bats.

Looking to avoid a shutdown inning, catcher Kasi Pohahau lead off the bottom half with a double into left field. Timely hitting with two outs has been a key to Skyline’s offensive production and once again kept them in the game with Marcelo, Anthony Masetti, and Daniel Sahagun all singling to give Skyline the lead 5-4 into the fifth inning.

Skyline turned to right-hander Nate Rumb who was able to get out of the fifth inning with a nice double play from his infield. As for Monterey, Platero was pulled in favor of Canadian right-hander Spencer Davis.

“The Grunter,” said Skyline coach Dino Nomicos to his fellow coaching staff, who saw Davis in the first game of the series where he gave up three runs on five hits.

Into the seventh, Skyline still had the one-run lead intact but Rumb walked leadoff hitter Sam Beecher, after a one-out single Monterey had runners at second and first. Another defensive mistake cost Skyline as they couldn’t complete a double play, which led to Beecher scoring from second, tying the game, and leading to Rumb getting pulled in favor of Austin Brown.

Davis continued to pitch well for the Lobos and was able to keep Skyline’s bats quiet and unable to reach base.

“We kind of got out of our swings, we were letting him mess with us, we were swinging at bad pitches, which usually isn’t us,” said Marcelo, who finished with two hits in five at bats along with 3 RBIs.

Leadoff hitter for Monterey, Colby Hirano, collected just his second hit with a single to lead off the eighth inning. Brown was able to get two groundouts, yet it led Hirano to move across the diamond and reach third base with two outs. In a game full of defensive mistakes, Brown’s wild pitch against Beecher saw Monterey retake the lead 6-5.

That was all Davis needed as he continued to be dominant, shutting the door on any Skyline comeback with his fourth 1-2-3 inning of the game in the ninth.