Junipero Serra
ATHERTON – Prior to Saturday, Ian Josephson had never thrown more than three innings at the varsity level. Heck, last year he threw a grand total of four innings for the Serra Padres, but this was his game to win, and he wasn’t coming out.
He said as much to coach Mat Keplinger after lining out to end the seventh inning with the go-ahead run at third base.
“I was (pitching) for the rest of the game,” he said. “I told Kep, ‘You’re not taking me out of this game. Let’s go get a win,’” Josephson said after Serra scored five runs in the eighth inning to beat Los Gatos, 6-1 and win the inaugural Battle for Atherton crown.
In a game where the bullpen came up big, Josephson struck out five – including the game’s last two batters – over three innings as Serra improved to 3-0 with the victory over a team it could see again in May when the CCS tournament begins.
The trio of Richie Calderon, Nate Hui and Josephson put the brakes on a Los Gatos offense that had scored in double digits in each of its first two games this season. On Saturday, the Wildcats collected just six hits and their only run came courtesy of a Will Temple home run in the third inning.
Los Gatos had a few other scoring chances, but Hui got big strikeouts to escape jams in the fourth and fifth innings.
The Padres were poised to win it in the seventh when Jack Wessell walked with one out and stole second. He moved to third when Wildcats third baseman Lucas Carlisle made strong play on a Hui grounder to get the second out.
Josephson, who hit the ball hard all day, lined one to right field that was caught by Zach Biller.
“We don't really look at batting averages around here,” Josephson said. “It’s more hard contact, but still, just the mental part of seeing the ball up and thinking it's down (for a hit), and then watching it fly into the glove is hard.”
Play of the Game
The Padres finally broke the 1-1 deadlock in the eighth by plating five runs. The big hit was a double by William Walbridge to left-center field that scored Evan Bradshaw and was highlight by a scary collision between Los Gatos outfielders Brayden Smith and Brady Simon.
Three Things We Liked
· Josephson’s swing. He led off the game with an opposite field double off the left-field wall, singled to left field in the fifth and lined out to right field in the seventh. Three well-struck baseballs and a swing – tailored for the shallow left-field porch at Serra – that can travel anywhere on the Peninsula.
· Nate Hui’s enthusiasm. Getting out of fourth- and fifth-inning jams wouldn’t have been complete without Hui screaming euphorically after each inning-ending punchout. Three Padres pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts against one of the area’s best offensive teams.
· Serra continued to apply pressure on the base paths. On Saturday, they stole five bases.
He said it
“I think getting this (tournament) under our belt, to win three – and (Los Gatos) is a really good team, a D-I CCS team that we'll probably see again so to beat them is big – is a huge confidence builder for our team.” – Ian Josephson, Serra senior.
| R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serra (3-0) | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Los Gatos (2-1) | 1 | 6 | 4 |
W: Josephson. L: M.Thomas. 2 hits- Josephson (S), Musser (LG). HR- Temple (LG). 2B- Josephson (S) Walbridge (S).
Menlo Atherton 4, Menlo School 0
Wes Peterson and Max Brubaker combined on a one-hitter as the Bears won their second straight game and dropped the host Knights to 0-3.
Peterson tossed four no-hit innings with seven strikeouts, while Brubaker threw the final three innings to earn the save.
Merrick Lee had two hits for Menlo Atherton, while Will Roberts added a double.
| R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menlo-Atherton (2-1) | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Menlo School (0-3) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
W: Peterson. L: Flanagin. S: Brubaker. 2 hits- Lee (M-A). 2B- Roberts (M-A)
Scotts Valley 7, Sacred Heart Prep 0
The Falcons found their offensive groove to salvage a win in their journey to Atherton. Meanwhile, the Gators (1-2) continue to struggle with the bats.
"If we rally a couple of hits together, things will get easier for us," said Sacred Heart Prep coach Sean McMillan.
Then again, finding things to work on was the reason McMillan the early-season tournament.
"We put ourselves in a position to see what we're made of and then see what we need to work on going into league, which begins in three weeks," McMillan said. "We have some things to dial in."
| R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotts Valley (1-2) | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Sacred Heart Prep (1-2) | 0 | 3 | 1 |
W: McDonnalld. L: Sweeney. 3B- Jordan (SV). 2B- McDonnalld (SV), Prior (SV), Deforest (SV), Martin (SV).
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