Seeking to keep pace with league leaders Los Gatos, Mountain View got a stellar performance from sophomore pitcher Allison Marcelino to beat Los Altos 9-3 Friday and sweep the season series.
Marcelino finished with just two earned runs on four hits in seven innings, striking out nine, earning praise from Mountain View head coach Xavier Cook for her toughness and confidence away from home to overwhelm the Eagles.
“Since I’ve taken this program, she’s one of the best pitchers we’ve had in this program,” Cook said. “I like her guts. She wants to compete.”
Cook said those qualities are what make her special and were evident early at a sign-up meeting for new softball players. Despite just having finished eighth grade, Marcelino asked Cook if freshmen could play varsity softball as she worked towards her goal of making varsity her freshman year.
“To me, it just told me that she was that kid that was like, ‘I’m going to make that softball team,’” Cook said. “To me, that’s a pit bull mentality.”
Not only did she make the team as a freshman, but she also became the team’s number-one pitcher during the year, capping it off by pitching in last year’s Central Coast Section Division IV quarterfinals against Pacific Grove. For the sophomore, softball is the place that allows her to show her confidence and all the work she puts in.
“As a person, I’m more quiet, but when I get out on the field, I’m just a completely different person,” Marcelino said. “I think I’m the best version of me when I’m on the field.”
Since the start of her sophomore year, Cook said Marcelino has increased her speed while pitching and mentally matured on the mound, focusing on what she can control rather than trying to win the game herself for her teammates. Los Altos came alive in the seventh and scored two runs thanks to a triple and single on 0-2 counts with no outs, requiring Marcelino to refocus to avoid giving the Eagles more hope.
“After the hits, I realized I have to perform better and really focus because I have to finish the game strong,” Marcelino said. “Just talking to my teammates after the timeout made me realize that I have to do it for them and give them my everything.”
She responded with three straight strikeouts in commanding fashion, noting if she had been in the same situation last year, it might have gotten worse.
“Last year, I think the pressure really always got to me, and I struggled and let my frustration get the best of me, but this year, I think I’ve matured overall,” Marcelino said.
Los Altos pitcher Sophia Asar only gave up two earned runs and got the Spartans to hit pop-ups and play out of rhythm early in the game before Mountain View became more patient in the seventh inning and scored five runs. Mountain View opened the game with two runs before Los Altos got on the board in the bottom of the second. The Spartans added another run in the fourth and sixth innings to make it 4-1 going into the seventh inning, where Mountain View made it 9-1. Courtenay Nappo led the Spartans with two RBIs, while Callie Lentz had three hits and an RBI. Caroline Kim and Tabby Smith also had two hits and an RBI for Mountain View. Asar and Carissa Lai hit RBIs for Los Altos.
Mountain View (9-7) is tied for second with Homestead at 4-2 in SCVAL De Anza Division play and ensures the Spartans stay in contention for the league title ahead of its important matchup with first-place Los Gatos (13-5) today. The Wildcats are undefeated in league play at 6-0 and beat Mountain View 2-1 in March. Los Altos (7-9) is now 1-5 in league play.
“I feel like if we didn’t get this win today, we take ourselves out of contention of trying to be league champions,” Cook said. “Being 3-3 with six games left, you put yourself behind the 8-ball.”
