Ketelsen shuts down Mitty

SANTA CLARA – It was the moment John Diatte had been waiting for. Mitty had done the unbelievable by stringing together two hits against a Valley Christian team that simply doesn't give up a lot of hits.

And with Waylon Walsh coming to the plate as the tying run, Diatte brought in his closer.

Brock Ketelsen caught Walsh looking at a called third strike and the threat as ended.

"I was just trying to attack, basically," said Ketelsen, the senior who has already committed to Stanford and had a handful of pro scouts at MacDonald High watching him. "I just wanted to go out play and just go and let my stuff play. Hopefully, he makes a mistake, he gets himself out. Lots of credit to him, but, yeah, just trying to do my best out there."

Ketelsen's best was plenty good enough on Saturday night. He faced nine batters. He allowed a walk, another to reach base on an error and struck out the other seven – including the final four batters he faced – in a 3-0 Valley Christian victory over the Monarchs that gave the Warriors the Mike Hazlett Tournament championship.

He was the first of four Valley pitchers – Christopher Buck, Forest Zelmer and Quentin Medrano pitched before him – to shut down the Monarchs on just those two hits. To date, the Warriors have given up two runs – just one of them earned – in their first five games, while giving up just 12 hits. In sweeping through the Hazlett tourney, they surrendered just three hits in three games.

Play of the Game

Sophomore Colton Hadfield's two-run triple in the to right-center field scored Quinten Marsh and Jordan Ortiz and gave the Warriors a 3-0 lead and the ability to breath a huge sigh of relief.

"That was everything for that game," Ketelsen said. "... We were kind of on edge that whole time, and him smacking that ball to the right side was just the confidence that our team needed."

Three Things We Like

• Brock Ketelsen. He dominates the end of a game with his left arm. He's a luxury most high school coaches don't have: a southpaw who touches 90 mph – there were plenty of radar guns pinging around us when he took the mound – and the ability to mix his pitches.
• Mitty starter Carson Seeger threw a lot of pitches, but his stuff will travel well in the West Coast Athletic League. The Monarchs will win a lot of games with him on the mound.
• A standing-room only crowd for a high school game. It's only March, but this one had a playoff atmosphere because two of the Peninsula's best teams were on the field.

He Said It

"I've got a good group of guys and they're working hard. There are things that we can definitely get better at, and we're working hard to get better." – Valley Christian coach John Diatte.

W: Zelmer. L: Seeger. S: Ketelsen. 2 hits- Marsh (VC). 2 RBI- Hadfield (VC). 3B- Hadfield (VC)

Carlmont 9, Palo Alto 5

Jason Tofigh, Jonathan Fong, Grant Goetz and Tyler Webster each had two hits and drove in a pair as the Scots snapped a two-game losing streak.

Saturday's win allowed them to leave Santa Clara with a victory – and a seventh-place finish – at the Mike Hazlett tournament.

W: Fong. L: Johnston. 2 hits- Fong, (C), Goetz (C), Tofigh (C), Webster (C). 2 RBI- Webster (C), J. Tofigh (C), Goetz (C), Fong (C). 2B- Goetz (C). J.Tofigh (C).