In a non-league matchup Saturday between possibly the two best public-school baseball teams in the Central Coast Section, Palo Alto was a little sharper and played a little cleaner in a 6-4 victory over Carlmont.
“We talked about this game having a playoff-type atmosphere,’’ Carlmont coach Rich Vallero said. “It was a good measuring stick of where we are late in the season. (Palo Alto) played clean baseball. For us to play them to a 6-4 score making a bunch of mistakes, I like where my guys are if we play a little better defense.’’
Palo Alto (19-4) has already clinched the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division regular-season title. Carlmont (17-3-1) has a two-game lead over Terra Nova and Capuchino in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division with six games left.
“We’ll see them again in the playoffs,’’ Palo Alto coach Pete Fukuhara said.
Palo Alto has had a highly successful season thanks to contributions from up and down the lineup and throughout the starting rotation. There’s no one player with superstar numbers, but seven of nine players in the starting lineup are hitting over .300 and the three starting pitchers are a combined 15-1.
Jeremy Akioka, the No. 3 starter, was on the mound Saturday and went 4 ⅓ innings before leaving with a 4-2 lead. He improved to 5-1 on the season. His ERA is 1.80.
“Jeremy has done a really good job as our Saturday guy,’’ Fukuhara said. “It’s a real blessing having three guys who can take us deep into a game.’’
Jake Varner and Spencer Rojahn got the Vikings through the fifth and sixth innings and Niko Lillios pitched a scoreless seventh inning for his sixth save.
At the plate, eight of nine hitters in the Palo Alto batting order had at least one hit. Ben Cleasby and Nathan Willis, the Nos. 3 and 5 batters, had two hits apiece.
Shortstop Ethan Stern, batting cleanup, had a double and a sacrifice fly and two RBIs.
Stern joined the baseball team after the basketball team’s post-season run came to an end in the NorCal Division I finals. Plugging him in at shortstop has solidified the infield defense. He has also been productive hitting fourth after being mostly a No. 2 hitter previously.
“We don’t have a prototype cleanup hitter,’’ Fukuhara said. “Ethan’s a strong kid who puts a good swing on the ball.’’
Angus Stayte’s double in the second inning scored Willis and gave Paly a 1-0 lead. Stern’s double brought home Cleasby in the third and made it 2-0.
After Carlmont drew to within 2-1, Palo Alto, helped along by two Carlmont errors, scored two runs in the fifth to make it 4-1. Cleasby had an RBI single to highlight the rally.
On Friday, Aron Ecoff made sure there was no comeback this time and Palo Alto downed visiting Mountain View 3-1 to stake its claim to the outright Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division title.
The Vikings are three games up on Los Gatos with two games to play.
Ecoff (6-0) allowed a run, unearned, on four hits. He walked one and struck out a pair.
The Vikings, who scored in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game at Mountain View, went to work in the first this time around. Max Jung-Goldberg delivered a lead-off triple and scored on Cleasby’s single.
Willis led off the fourth with a double and scored on Josh Kasevich’s single. In the fifth, Palo Alto manufactured a run after Lillios singled, stole second and third and scored on Cleasby’s sacrifice fly.
The Vikings have two league games remaining: at Los Altos on Wednesday and home against the Eagles on Friday. Both games start at 4 p.m.
Paly also has a nonleague game with WCAL power St. Francis at home next Saturday at noon.