Thanks to Monta Vista, the Gunn baseball team is undefeated no longer and the race for the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s El Camino Division championship is once again up for grabs.
Although the Titans retained their division lead in spite of suffering their first loss of the season, their grip on the top spot was much more precarious as this week began.
That’s because the Cupertino Pioneers were suddenly in hailing distance of the Titans, just a game and a half behind them in second place, as they prepared to clash with them twice this week (Tuesday and Thursday).
Monta Vista created the division drama last week when it split its important two-game series with the Titans, losing the first game at home, 8-3, but bouncing back to win the rematch at Gunn, 6-2.
That left Gunn’s record at 7-1 with Cupertino (5-2) in second and Monta Vista in third (5-3).
The Matadors brought an end to the Titans’ perfect 7-0 start in league play by virtue of a stellar pitching performance from senior Sheldon McClelland and some welcomed, if unexpected, help from the Gunn defense.
McClelland worked six solid innings on the mound, scattering six hits and allowing just two runs, while walking three and striking out a half dozen. It was his fifth straight win since losing his only decision of the year back on March 6, against Prospect, raising his record to 6-1 and lowering his earned run average to 1.62.
Kevin Nordby, fresh from a no-hit effort against Fremont a week earlier, sealed the win with an inning of shut out relief.
The Matador offense managed just five hits on the day, but were aided by four errors by the normally reliable Gunn defense.
Sam Nastari led the Monta Vista attack with a homer and a single, driving in two runs and scoring one. Ryan Granzella and Jared Slater each knocked in a run. McClelland and Nordby both scored twice, and Tim Iwamoto tallied once. McClelland and Iwamoto each clubbed doubles, and Iwamoto had the only other Matador hit, a single.
Monta Vista, which could have moved into a tie for first place with Gunn by sweeping the two-game series, dropped the series opener when the Titans erupted for seven runs in the top of the sixth, erasing a 2-1 Matador lead.
The Matadors collected just five hits–all singles–in the loss, including two by Surya Kumaraguru, and one each by Brendan Hughes, Andrew Ding and Nastari. Danny Takahashi, Hughes and Iwamoto each scored runs, and Ding and Nastari each had an RBI.
Meanwhile, Cupertino tuned up for its showdown with the Titans by routing Harker 11-1 in a non-league affair.
The Pioneers, who raised their record to 11-6 for the year, decided the game, for all intents and purposes, in the very first inning with a four-run outburst. But they continued to add to their total with a single run in the third, three in the fourth and three more in the fifth to take an 11-0 lead before the Eagles were able to break up Cupertino’s shutout bid with a run in the top of the seventh.
In another non-league contest, Fremont lost to Live Oak, 7-0.
The Firebirds, who fell to 8-10 on the year, collected six hits in the loss, including two each by Karl Heuchert and Levi Torio, who each had a double and a single. Freshmen Alonzo Vergara and Robert O’Connor both singled to account for the remainder of the Fremont offense.
Over in the SCVAL’s De Anza Division, Homestead put a dent in Milpitas’ hopes of gaining on co-leaders Los Gatos and Wilcox by splitting a two-game series with the Trojans.
The Mustangs, 3-7 in league play and 5-14 overall, suffered a 6-4 loss to Milpitas in the series opener at Homestead.
Milpitas built a commanding 6-1 lead through 2 1/2 innings, but had to hold on for the win after the Mustangs’ comeback bid fell short.
Dylan Remahl was a bright spot in the loss for Homestead, knocking in a pair of runs with a couple of hits.
Homestead bounced back to nudge the Trojans 2-1 two days later, knocking Milpitas three games behind Los Gatos and Wilcox in the De Anza Division standings.
In the Peninsula Athletic League’s Ocean Division, King’s Academy outlasted Woodside 9-7.
