Mountain View’s chances at winning the SCVAL De Anza Division league title shrank significantly in a 4-2 home loss against league-leaders Los Altos Wednesday after the Wildcats overcame a 2-1 deficit.
“I think we played them tough,” Mountain View head coach Xavier Cook said. “They did a good job of getting hits, dropping little bloopers in between us, and they got the timely hit when they needed it.”
Los Gatos (14-5) took the lead at the top of the first before Mountain View (9-8) responded in the bottom of the second with two runs to take the lead. After two outs to start the inning, Mountain View’s AllisonMarcelino hit a single, which led to first baseman Paige Wardell hitting a double down the right field line to score pitch runner Naila Rocha. Hannah Black followed it up with a single over the head of the second baseman to bring home Wardell. Cook praised the team for executing the team’s hitting game plan and Wardell for making progress in hitting.
“She and I have been working on her hitting, trying to change some things to get her to get more confident with her hitting,” Cook said of Wardell. “It was good to see today because it showed the hard work she’s put into it to try and be a better hitter.”
Los Gatos responded in the fourth inning with two runs to retake a lead it would not relinquish. Los Gatos’ Tessa Lilienstein started with a single, and Clare Torres walked to set up runners on first and second before Mountain View got two outs. However, the Wildcats’ Ria Sharma hit an RBI single, and Alexa Musser got the first of her two RBIs to give Los Gatos a 3-2 advantage against Marcelino, Mountain View’s pitcher who gave up four runs and 10 hits in seven innings, finishing with five strikeouts and leading the team with two hits.
The lead change would be all Los Gatos pitcher Ava Norquist needed. The talented freshman only gave up two runs and three hits in the game while striking out eight, earning the praise of Cook for her ability and belief that she can get players out at any time she wants. Cook noted that she was the third–best pitcher the team had faced all year after St. Francis’ Kate Munnerlyn and Shannon Keighran.
“She a good strikeout pitcher, as you can tell,” Cook said. “Overall, she’s probably the best pitcher in our league, hands down. We probably have the second-best pitcher.”
Mountain View’s hitting dried up in the latter stages of the game, with the Spartans not getting anyone on base in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and having nine batters retired in a row. Marcelino got a single for the Spartans to start the bottom of the seventh before three straight-outs stranded her at first to end the game. Cook noted that the team needed to get hits and score runs if it wanted to win against quality teams like Los Gatos.
“In the last four innings of the game, we only had one hit. Top of our lineup was 0-13,” Cook noted.
The win keeps Los Gatos in a commanding position in SCVAL De Anza Division play at 7-0. The loss leaves Mountain View at 4-3 in a tight battle with three other teams for second place. Milpitas is second at 4-2, Homestead is tied with the Spartans at 4-3 and Wilcox is 4-4. However, Mountain View has the chance to move two games with Homestead next week and plays Milpitas and Wilcox in the final two games of the league season.
“Right now, we have to play to get back into second place,” Cook said.
