Molise grand slam lifts Bears

If you showed up for the eighth inning of Menlo-Atherton's 8-7 Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division thriller over Sequoia, you would have seen all you needed in those 30 minutes or so.

The Bears (14-6) scored four runs in the top of the eighth on grand-slam home run by senior Jack Molise. They hung on for the win as the Ravens mounted a serious comeback that came up just short.

The win improved Menlo-Atherton's Bay Division record to 6-1, 1 1/2 games ahead of Hillsdale, while Sequoia fell to 3-4 in the Bay Division.

MJ Ellazar led off the eight with a walk. Ronan Cutright pinch ran for him and moved to second on Jack Wilbanks' sacrifice bunt. Gianni Olivero walked to put runners on first and second. Merrick Lee bunted both runners into scoring position with two out.

Ryder Kelly was intentionally walked to load the bases and Molise followed with a grand slam that gave the Bears an 8-4 lead.

As dramatic as the top of the eighth was, the bottom of the inning nearly topped it.

Senior catcher Logan Mathias, who had three hits, led off the frame with a single, but was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double. That would prove to be costly when Morgan Winfield single and Drew Ostrander doubled to put runners on second and third.

A Vince Olinger-Giana infield grounder was booted, allowing Winfield to score and cut the lead to three, 8-5. After Cameron Abrams walked to load the bases, Luke Ostrander singled to right field to score two and cut the Menlo-Atherton lead to 8-7.

The rally would end there as Garrett Johnson flied out to end the game.

The game featured a big day from the Ostrander brothers. Luke and Drew became the first brothers in the PAL to collect two hits in the same game.

W: Rosenthal. L: Johnson. 3 hits- Mathias (S), Roberts (MA). 2 hits- L.Ostrander (S), D.Ostrander (S), Olinger-Giana (S), Winfield (S), Kelly (MA), Olivero (MA). 4 RBI- Molise (MA). 2 RBI- Olinger-Giani. HR- Mathias (S), Molise (MA). 2B- Kelly (MA), Olivero (MA), Abrams (S), D. Ostrander (S), Johnson (S).

Palo Alto 7, Hillsdale 6, 8 innings

Greg Lee's two-out bases-loaded single up the middle scored two and gave Palo Alto a 7-6 win over visiting Hillsdale on Monday.

The Knights (9-7) had taken the lead in the top of the eighth on a Jacob Bonner double and dropped fly ball. Hillsdale scored twice in the top of the seventh to force extra innings.

Martin Gehlhar led off the seventh by being hit by a pitch. Bennett Young, who had three hits, singled to put runners on first and second. Engel Vivas then hit a line drive over shortstop to score Minahan and make it 5-4.

Jake Belloni, who had three hits in the game, followed by launching one deep into left-centerfielder. Young was nailed at the plate on a perfect relay throw from Paly shortstop Coco Vonderhaar. And Belloni inexplicably remained at first base on the play.

Had Belloni gotten to second on the play, he would have at least moved to third on Kurt Schaffer's single that tied the game. And he would have easily scored on Jaden Minahan's fly ball to deep center.

Vonderhaar was also the offensive hero for the Vikings (6-11). The shortstop collected four hits, including a double and a home run, and drove in two runs.

Meanwhile, the Knights got a scare in the sixth inning when shortstop and pitcher Hugo Guzman was injured in a play at first base. He grabbed at his right knee as he fell to the ground and stayed down for several minutes before being helped off the field.

W: Hickey. L: Gehlhar. 4 hits- Vonderhaar (PA). 3 hits- Belloni (H), Young (H). 2 hits- Bader (PA). 2 RBI- (PA), Lee (PA). HR- Vonderhaar (PA). 2B- Vonderhaar (PA), Nguyen (H), Bonner (H).