With sophomore Mackenzie Glassford winning her 11th game, the Palo Alto softball team rolled to a 4-2 victory over host Cupertino in SCVAL El Camino Division action on Wednesday.
Glassford tossed a complete-game six-hitter with just one earned run and no walks as the Vikings won their fourth straight and improved to 3-2 in league (11-5 overall) heading into spring break.
Glassford aided her cause with two hits and three RBI, all three coming on a home run during a four-run fifth inning. Maddie Martinson and Jesse Kim each contributed a pair of singles for the Vikings.
In nonleague action, host Castilleja (2-10) dropped an 11-0 decision to Oak Grove and Menlo-Atherton was routed by Mercy-Burlingame, 21-4.
Baseball
Palo Alto fell out of a three-way tie for first place in the SCVAL De Anza Division race following a 6-5 upset loss to host Saratoga on Wednesday.
The Vikings held a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh before the Falcons (2-5, 7-7) scored four times to pull out the victory. Paly (5-2, 9-4) fell back in the race as co-leaders Wilcox (6-1, 12-5) and Los Gatos (6-1, 13-1) both won, the Chargers over Homestead by 12-0 and the Wildcats over Los Altos by 3-2.
Palo Alto committed three errors to hurt its cause. Justin Hull and Jack Andrews each had a pair of hits with Lawrence Han and Alex Olmstead contributing doubles.
In the PAL Bay Division, Matthew McGarry slammed a home run and pitched a complete-game three-hitter with seven strikeouts to carry host Menlo-Atherton to a 3-2 victory over Carlmont. McGarry walked one and hit one batter while facing 26 in seven innings. The Bears made the most of only four hits, with Matt Johnson lining a pair of singles.
Girls lacrosse
With senior Brigid White scoring four goals, the Sacred Heart Prep girls rolled to a 12-5 victory over visiting Castilleja in West Bay Athletic League action.
Junior Juliana Clark added three goals plus an assist for SHP (1-1, 2-7) with sophomore Cameron Gordon finishing with two goals and two assists. Emma Johnson, Kailey Wachhorst and Julia Basnage all scored once for SHP with sophomore goalie Emilie Swan finishing with 10 saves against Castilleja (0-2, 3-3), which got three goals from Lou Biffar and one each from Niki Flamen and Paige Vermeer. Goalie Anika Tse had 11 saves.
In nonleague action, Menlo School ran into a buzz saw in the form of undefeated Monte Vista (Danville) and dropped a 19-5 decision in the East Bay.
The Knights (6-3) played without their starting goalie and two impact defenders, all of whom played key roles in a big win over Carondelet on Tuesday. Thus, Menlo was challenged from get-go with freshman goalie Grace Young brought up from the JV team. She wound up facing 30 shots.
The Knights, however, scored the first two goals of the match before Monte Vista took the lead at 3-2. The Knights eventually fell back at halftime, 9-5, and couldn’t make up the difference in the second half with 10 forced/unforced errors.
Menlo will host defending Oregon state champ Lake Oswego on Friday at 3 p.m. and then Novato on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Boys lacrosse
Palo Alto fell to host Mountain View, 12-6, in SCVAL El Camino Division action while Gunn fell to host Los Altos, 13-5, in SCVAL El Camino Division play.
Swimming
With Kayla Holman and Kathryn Bower each winning a pair of individual events, the Sacred Heart Prep girls posted a 91-79 dual-meet victory over visiting St. Ignatius.
Holman won the 200 IM (2:16.09) and 100 fly (1:00.19) and swam on the winning 200 free relay (1:45.06). Bower took the 200 free (1:56.56) and 500 free (5:14.90) and anchored the 400 free relay to victory in 3:45.94.
The visiting St. Ignatius boys outscored Sacred Heart Prep, 13-3, in the 200 IM and held a slim advantage throughout the rest of the meet to hold on for an 88-82 nonleague victory. The Gators used their depth to outscore the Wildcats, 36-28, over the next four events but got only one more victory the rest of the meet as SI won nine of the 11 events.