Los Gatos bats resonate in Atherton

ATHERTON – This is the warning to the rest of the Peninsula: The Los Gatos Wildcats can hit. Even their outs are loud. That was the lasting impression from their season-opening 15-2 victory over Menlo-Atherton in the Batte for Atherton on Tuesday.

The Wildcats pounded out 17 hits, including a home run and five doubles in handing the host Bears a lopsided defeat.

Junior catcher Rowan Smith did most of the damage with five hits, but the big bop – the one that put Los Gatos in the lead for good – was a three-run homer over the fence in left field by shortstop Jayden Thomas, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup.

“Nobody in our lineup deserves to hit ninth, but somebody has to,” said Los Gatos coach Mike Minkel.

Key Play: After coming up empty in their first three innings, Thomas’ home run was a no-doubter off Jack Molise. It broke the seal for the Wildcats, who added five runs in the fifth, three in the sixth and four in the seventh.

Three Things We Liked

·        The way the Wildcats swing the bats is impressive. If they can find enough pitching, their roster is 16 deep and loaded with tough outs. That’s a recipe for CCS success in May.

·        Jordan Paroubeck didn’t put much stock in the one-sided loss. It’s one game and the Bears have the talent and depth to win a lot of games, he said. “You learn from games like this,” he said. “You improve. We've got some things to work on. A lot to work on.”

·        On a day where plenty of balls were shooting the gaps, it was easy to notice that Menlo-Atherton centerfielder Masataka Shudo is solid defensively. He made a couple of nice running catches and prevented a second-inning run with a strong throw to the plate after catching a fly ball.

He Said it: “We had some good swings early on. I commend our guys for sticking with our approach and not getting frustrated because we didn't get that big hit early.” – Mike Minkel, Los Gatos coach.

Up Next: Battle for Atherton continues Thursday. Los Gatos (1-0) takes on Menlo School (0-1), while Menlo-Atherton (0-1) takes on Scotts Valley (0-1).

W: E.Williams. L: Molise. HR- J.Thomas (LG), 4th, two on. 5 hits- R. Smith (LG). 2 hits- Luderman (LG), Simon (LG). 4 RBI- R.Smith (LG). **3 RBI- Luderman (LG), J.Thomas (LG).

Serra 4, Menlo School 1

Kelley Crawford allowed a hit and an unearned run over four innings while striking out five in leading the Padres to a season-opening road victory.

Centerfielder Tyler Harrison drove in two runs, while Davis Minton had two hits and Ian Josephson stole two bases. Richie Calderon collected the save for Serra, which will face Sacred Heart Prep on Thursday in a Battle for Atherton biggie.

Menlo (0-1), which had just one hit, faces Los Gatos on Thursday.

W: Crawford. L: Flanagan. S: Calderone. 2 RBI- Harrison (S).

Sacred Heart Prep 3, Scotts Valley 2

The Gators collected a season-opening victory in walk-off fashion.

With the game tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the eighth, Alex Daheb singled to score Thomas Moldow with the winning run as the Sacred Heart Prep moved into Thursday’s showdown with Serra with the victory.

Devin Saltzgaber threw 4 2/3 innings and allowed four hits and a run while striking out five. He also doubled.

W: Sweeney. L: Cornish.