LIVERMORE — After throwing a complete-game shutout to lead Granada to a 1-0 win at home over Foothill on Friday, pitcher Tyler Kennedy was asked what was working on the mound.
He kept his answer short and sweet.
“Everything was working. All of it,” Kennedy said.
Using an array of fastballs and breaking pitches, the 6-foot-1 right-hander struck out nine, walked none and allowed just three hits to lead Granada (16-4, 8-1) to a bounce-back victory over the Falcons.
Granada fumbled a three-run lead in a 6-4 loss at Foothill (15-4, 5-4) on Wednesday and the defeat was on the minds of the Matadors on Friday.
“We were pretty driven coming into today,” Kennedy said. “We were pretty mad about Wednesday’s game. We just wanted our get back and we got it.”
Senior designated hitter Estevan Duarte, who is also a standout on Granada’s football team, knocked in the go-ahead run in the home half of the sixth inning on an RBI double to left field to break a scoreless tie.
Foothill pitcher Take Sato-Kreis was excellent on the mound. The senior allowed just three hits, no earned runs and struck out four across five innings.
“In games like this, it comes down to one pitch. (Granada) got that one key hit,” Foothill coach Zeke Palma said. “To beat teams like this, you have to play a perfect game. We were one pitch away from a perfect game.”
Both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm early.
Through four innings, Sato-Kreis faced 17 batters and retired 12. He found success with a curveball-high fastball combo that kept Granada hitters at bay.
But as the game grew longer, Granada knew its patience at the plate was going to pay off. After five innings, Sato-Kreis totaled 92 pitches and threw just three more before being relieved after Kennedy singled to left field to open the sixth.
With one out and Kennedy on second, Duarte stepped into the box. The senior was one of Granada’s offensive bright spots as he recorded one of the Matadors’ two hits up to that point.
On a 1-1 count, Duarte smashed a line drive in the gap between third base and shortstop that rolled deep into the Foothill outfield and was bobbled by the Falcons’ left fielder. The hit scored Kennedy from second and broke a scoreless tie for Granada going into the seventh inning.
“The pitch just came and I turned on it,” Duarte said. “I was going to stay at first initially, but then I saw him bobble it, so I just went for the extra base.”
After scoring the go-ahead run, Kennedy retired three straight Foothill batters in the top of the seventh to seal the win for Granada. The Ohlone College commit won his second start of the year and pitched the full seven innings for the first time in his varsity career.
“Tyler’s execution from pitch to pitch and his ability to land his breaking ball and really locate it in and out throughout the day made it very enjoyable, and certainly effective against a really pretty good Foothill lineup,” Granada pitching coach Jason Sekany said.
The win was crucial for Granada as the Livermore school remained in first place of the East Bay Athletic League standings – one game above second-place De La Salle.
In the last two seasons, Granada has lost just two league games and will be looking to capture its second consecutive EBAL title when the league playoff tournament starts in just over two weeks.
“It’s hard to look at any game before the playoffs as a must win, but we really kind of felt like today was a must-win situation,” Sekany said. “The last thing we want to do is have to rely on anybody else or any other teams in any other circumstances near playoff time. We want to control our destiny and winning today’s game was as big as any that we’ve had this year in making sure that continues to happen.”
