Cole Spina pitched a two-hitter and Sacred Heart Prep put together a solid team effort to beat visiting Sequoia 7-0 in a Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division baseball game Wednesday.
Schafer Kraemer had two hits and doubled home a run in the first inning for the Gators (7-14-1, 3-6), who moved within 1 1/2 games of fourth place, currently shared by Sequoia and Burlingame, with five league games remaining.
Sequoia (13-7, 4-4) hosts Sacred Heart Prep at 4 p.m. Friday to complete the season series.
The Gators broke it open with a six-run rally in the fourth, which opened innocently enough with two outs on two pitches.
Cherokees starter Matt Smith suddenly lost control, walking the next four batters on 19 pitches.
Mike York, Barry Mainz, Matthew Johnson and Kyle Cody were the patient recipients of the free passes. Jack Molumphy singled on an 0-2 pitch to drive in a run and all heck broke loose.
Jackson and Cody scored on errors, Molumphy stole home (he leads the PAL in stolen bases) and Jack Donnelly, who singled and went to third on Kraemer’s single, scored on a wild pitch.
Spina made it easy on himself, needing 88 pitches, 56 strikes, to complete the shutout against a team that had not been previously held scoreless and entered the game with a hefty .335 team batting average, including 43 extra-base hits, nine of which were home runs.
Spina retired the first six in succession and 15 of the first 17 batters he faced. He walked two, hit a batter and struck out four. A pair of double plays from a defense that was flawless throughout, helped keep Sequoia baserunners to a minimum. Only one got as far as third base.
In the SCVAL De Anza Division, Spencer Rojahn made his first start of the season and survived a shaky start to help Palo Alto top host Los Altos 11-2 on Wednesday.
Rojahn walked the first batter he saw and the second batter reached on an error. He got two outs but then gave up two straight hits, allowing the Eagles to take an early lead.
He allowed one hit the rest of the way and the offense gave him some breathing room with a five-run second inning.
Nathan Willis and Jonathan Gottlieb each singled to open the inning. After an out, Josh Kasevich and Jackson Hall followed with RBI singles. Max Jung-Goldberg, who had four hits on the day, singled to load the bases ahead of Ben Cleasby’s two-run double and Ethan Stern doubled home another run.
The Vikings (20-4, 12-1) finish the regular-season at home, taking on Los Altos at 4 p.m. Friday and meeting WCAL power St. Francis at noon Saturday.
Niko Lillios added three hits while Hyunwoo Roh and Gottlieb each pitched a scoreless inning to complete the combined five-hitter.
Softball
Palo Alto pitcher Mackenzie Glassford held first-place Milpitas in check for seven innings in a SCVAL El Camino Division contest Wednesday.
This one went extra though as a two-run homer in the eighth p[roved to be the difference in the Trojans 6-2 victory over the host Vikings.
Until then, it appeared that a sparkling defensive play might save the day for Palo Alto (8-5, 4-4).
Milpitas (12-2-2, 7-1) had already scored two runs on four singles in the fourth but outfielder Ella Jones fired a strike to shortstop Sophie Frick, who in turn put the ball on the money for Maggie Renteria to nail a Milpitas runner trying to advance to third for the final out of the inning.
Frick and Renteria each singled with one out in the bottom of the fourth but could not score. That changed in the sixth.
With two outs, Renteria and Frick each reached on an error. Madeleine Frick singled in one run and Jones singled in the tying run.
Glassford singled with two outs in the seventh but a hard hit ball to left was tracxked down for the final out.
The Vikings travel to Fremont for a game at 4 p.m. Friday.
Gunn (5-9, 3-5) is slated for a game at Saratoga on Friday, also at 4 p.m.
Boys tennis
Menlo junior Bo Leschly reached the finals of the West Bay Athletic League Singles Tournament, and finished 3-1 Monday and Tuesday at home.
Leschly defeated Richard Hu of Harker 6-0, 6-1 in the first round, then topped Beto Macedo of Sacred Heart Prep 6-2, 6-3.
In the third round, Leschly beat Harker’s David Wen 6-1, 6-4 before falling to James Bell of The King’s Academy in the final.
Harker’s Edward Tischler and Regesma defeated Eagles teammates Neil Bai and Randy Zhao 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win the WBAL doubles title.
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports