Leigh’s baseball team has had a strong season thus far.
The Longhorns have rarely lost, and before April 11, they hadn’t dropped a game since their season opener, a narrow defeat on the road against an excellent St. Francis squad.
But on that Friday, the final day of spring break, Leigh welcomed in a strong group from Soquel and lost 7-6, conceding the winning run in the top of the seventh to break a tie.
That Soquel team is now 16-1. And after rebounding to beat Bret Harte-Angels Camp last Saturday, the No. 11 Longhorns continued their winning ways back in Blossom Valley Athletic League action this week.
Leigh played a home-and-home series with crosstown rival Willow Glen, winning 6-3 Tuesday on enemy soil and finishing off a sweep with a 7-3 victory at home on Friday in San Jose.
“Our guys battled this week,” Leigh coach Drew Marino said. “Willow Glen is a good team. We didn’t play perfectly, but we were able to grind out some tough at-bats.”
The Longhorns (14-2, 6-0 BVAL) received a strong pitching performance from Dylan Christian, who went 3 1/3 innings and allowed just two hits and no runs to pick up the win.
“He really picked us up on the mound today,” Marino said.
Leigh benefitted a milestone hit from sophomore Aiden Phillips, whose solo home run in the fourth inning was the first varsity knock of his Longhorns career. Marino called it the “exclamation” on the win.
Michael Mogannam, Noah Miller, Phillips, Cooper Low and Marcus Glanville all drove in runs for Leigh, with Glanville plating two with a two-run double.
Bishop Dover batted in a run for Willow Glen, which dropped to 10-6 overall and 2-4 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL.
No. 7 Los Gatos 13, Palo Alto 0
Los Gatos took care of business against Palo Alto in a league game on the road. The Wildcats (13-3, 6-0 SCVAL De Anza Division) wasted no time, scoring five runs in the first inning and steadily adding to the lead from there. Junior Beau Musser drove in four runs and had four hits for the Cats, with Will Temple (two), Rowen Smith (two), Jayden Thomas, Lucas Carlisle, Cooper Bannon, Max Thomas and Gavin Jordan also driving in runs. Matt Ludeman pitched four shutout innings for Los Gatos to earn the win. Palo Alto dropped to 5-11, 3-3.
No. 8 Foothill 8, No. 9 Dublin 7
Foothill’s dramatic seventh-inning comeback flipped a game that looked like it was going Dublin’s way until the very end. Nathan Canilao was in Pleasanton and has the story here.
Branham 3, Christopher 2
This tight BVAL Mt. Hamilton battle came down to the seventh. Tied 1-1 entering the final frame, Christopher went up 2-1 on a hit-by-pitch, as Jacob Huerta took one for the team to force in a run with the bases loaded. But Branham Lucas Setser got out of the jam, striking out the next Cougars batter to limit the damage. The Bruins were ready to pounce in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Angelo Rivera doubled to right field, then Ethan Vietvu drew a walk. Next, Chris Von Barloewen singled, but Rivera was thrown out at third base. With two outs, Gabe Migues’ pop fly to the pitcher was dropped, giving Branham a second life. Then Deegan Waldorph singled to left, and the Bruins walked off a win in style. Branham improved to 10-4 and 5-1 in the Mt. Hamilton, while Christopher dropped to 9-7 overall and 3-3 in league play.
Softball
No. 9 Mills 11, Mercy 0
Mills had little mercy for its visitors on Friday in Millbrae, run-ruling the Bears of Burlingame after the top of the fifth. Junior Hailey Pedroza pitched a complete-game shutout in the circle for the Vikings, going all five innings with four hits allowed and six strikeouts. Sydney Wong (three), Lucy Esquivel (three), Jazzy Maske (two), Audrey Jang and Sofia Kwan drove in baserunners for Mills, which improved to 12-3-1 after the nonleague matchup. Mercy dropped to 9-9.
Amador Valley 8, No. 12 Livermore 5
Amador Valley, a softball powerhouse as recently as last year, took down a surging Livermore squad on Friday at home. The Dons, last season’s CIF NorCal Division I champions, improved to 8-9 this year and 3-4 in the East Bay Athletic League. Though Livermore took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Dons responded with two runs in the bottom of the second, built 5-1 and 8-2 leads and never trailed again. Ava Davis and Kaylee Davis each had two RBIs for AV, with Abbie Hiller, McKenna Charbonneau, Sarah Candland and Madi Howe also driving in runs. Payten Williams (two), Kerigan Coates, Grace Phillips and Sophia Gerochi drove in runners for Livermore, which dropped to 12-6, 4-3. The Cowboys have dropped two in a row after winning five of their previous six games.
No. 20 San Leandro 2, Encinal 0
The home Pirates did just enough to pick up a nonleague win at home and run their season record to 15-2. Marina Sacrey had a run-scoring hit to pick up an insurance run in the sixth inning, and Julianna Morales pitched a complete game in the circle, allowing three hits and striking out four. Encinal dropped to 5-11.
Prospect 4, Lincoln 2
A close matchup of BVAL teams with winning records went the way of the Panthers in Saratoga. Prospect (10–4, 8-2 Santa Teresa) trailed 2-0 after the top of the first but bounced back with a run in the bottom of the frame. The Panthers took the lead with a two-run fourth and padded their advantage with an insurance run in the sixth. Sydney Slezak knocked in three runs for Prospect. Jocelynn Perez and Jocelyn Hernandez each knocked in a run for Lincoln, which fell to 9-5, 6-3.