Paly's no-hitter is lost Paly's no-hitter is lost (April 19, 2002)

Santa Clara scores five times in sixth to upset the Vikings

by Keith Peters

In most cases when a pitcher gives up his first hit late in a game, the worst result is usually just the loss of a no-hitter.

For Palo Alto senior Colby Henard this week, it was much worse.

Henard breezed into the bottom of the sixth on Tuesday with a no-hitter. He appeared to be just six outs away from his second no-hitter of the season and the third such gem of his prep career.

An error, three walks and three hits later, host Santa Clara had five runs and Henard had the loss.

"It was real tough," Henard explained. "I probably had the most velocity I've had all season and probably my best breaking ball. I felt awesome, even going into the sixth. I struck out the first batter and then a push bunt resulted in an error. The flood gates kind of just opened after that."

Fortunately for the Vikings, the loss wasn't disastrous. Paly still is in first place in the SCVAL El Camino Division with a 10-1 record (14-4 overall). The Vikings have seven division games remaining -- two against Homestead (8-4) and one against Santa Clara (8-4), their closest pursuers.

Paly certainly has the pitching to get through the final stretch and earn a Central Coast Section playoff berth as the division champion. Henard, after all, allowed just three hits to the Bruins. Before that, Barrett Lonnquist gave up three hits to Monta Vista, Henard tossed a three-hitter against Lynbrook and Lonnquist had a three-hitter to beat Mountain View.

Paly's offense, however, has been nearly as anemic. The Vikings have 15 hits in their past four games and are batting just .195 during that span. Despite a .311 team batting average entering Tuesday night's game against Santa Clara, Paly managed just two singles.

"Our pitching and defense has been keeping us in the games," said Henard, "but our team has just been struggling with its hitting. I think a lot of it is just mental. Maybe everyone is pressing too much."

Paly certainly had its opportunities against Santa Clara. The Vikings had runners at first and second with no outs in the first until Henard, Lonnquist and Mark DiIulio were retired in order. In the fifth, Paly had runners at second and third with no outs. Once again, the trio of Henard, Lonnquist and DiIulio went down.

"If we score those runs in the first inning, that puts them on their heals a little bit," Henard explained. "A lot of teams in our league are like that; if you score on them early in the game, they're done. But, if you let them hang around, they'll put you on your heals."

Henard says he hopes Saturday's nonleague game at Sacred Heart Prep (1:30 p.m.) will provide an opportunity to kick start the Vikings' offense.

"Hitting is contagious," the senior lefty said. "Hopefully, someone will start hitting."

Palo Alto isn't the only local team struggling. Gunn (7-4, 10-6), which returns to SCVAL De Anza Division action on Monday at Los Altos (3:30 p.m.), has given up 23 runs and 25 hits in its past two games and needs to shore up its pitching in a hurry.

Sacred Heart Prep (4-2, 6-8) and Menlo (5-1, 11-7) have struggled with consistency at times, as well. The Gators haven't won back-to-back games all season, but are coming off a 2-1 win at Valley Christian-Dublin in Private Schools Athletic League play on Tuesday as freshman Michael Johnson scattered five singles over seven innings for the win. SHP has a chance to finally put up consecutive wins with a victory over host Pinewood today.

Menlo hasn't won more than two straight all season. The Knights did knock off Harker, 9-6, on Tuesday to remain in second place in the PSAL. Chad Volpe homered and drove in three runs while Ryan Seawell contributed three hits and two RBI. On Wednesday, however, Menlo dropped a 3-2 nonleague game to Fremont (Sunnyvale).

Menlo-Atherton, like Paly, has been finding ways to win. The Bears had just five hits against Capuchino this week, but scraped out a 4-1 win thanks to Eddie Browne's complete-game five-hitter. Browne improved to 6-0 while striking out nine and walking just two.
Softball

Sacred Heart Prep (4-1, 9-12) and Menlo-Atherton (4-1, 6-8) both held on to second place in their respective leagues with solid victories this week.

The Gators got a combined two-hitter from freshman Stephanie Erwin and senior Allison Reichert in a 16-0 romp over host Menlo in a Girls Private School League game Tuesday. Jessica Clee had three hits for SHP, including a triple, and drove in three.

The Bears got a fine two-hit, complete game from Cameron Murfit in a 10-0 win over host Jefferson in PAL Ocean Division action Wednesday. Kelly Brown had three hits while Laura Browne drove in four runs.

E-mail Keith Peters at kpeters@paweekly.com