The defending Central Coast Section Division II champion Sacred Heart Prep baseball team has been looking for something — anything — to kick-start its season.
After losing eight of nine games to start the season, the Gators (2-2 in Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division, 2-8 overall) won a wild one in walk-off fashion Friday with a lot of help from visiting Menlo-Atherton (1-3, 4-6). The Bears committed seven errors in the game, including two fatal errors on the game’s final play to propel SHP to an 8-7 victory.
With SHP junior Mike York on first base and two outs in the bottom of the seventh amid a 7-7 tie, No. 9 hitter John Gardner lifted a shallow pop up to right field that was dropped by the second baseman. The first error allowed York to advance to third, where he initially stopped; but when the throw back to the infield clipped off the first baseman’s glove and trickled into no-man’s-land, York dashed home to score the game-winning run.
And as York was mobbed by his teammates at home plate, it was the first time this season the Gators looked like the team that won it all in the Division II bracket last season.
“This was the first one that reminded me of that team last year that won the CCS championship,” York said.
It was a big day for York, who went 1 for 2 with an RBI and two runs scored, with his third-inning double giving the Gators a much-needed spark. SHP’s offense has fallen upon hard times this season. Even with the Gators’ eight-run output Friday, the manufactured just six hits. As a team, they are currently hitting at a .221 clip.
With York’s third-inning swing of the bat, however, he breathed life back into the Gators’ dugout. With M-A jumping out to an early 3-0 lead, York led off the third by raking a double over the first-base bag. York scored the Gators’ first run of the game and SHP would eventually tie it in the fourth.
From there, a back-and-forth battle ensued. M-A jumped back ahead with a two-run rally in the top of the fifth, but SHP responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 6-5 lead. M-A seesawed back out front with two runs in the top of the sixth, but SHP tied it with a run in the bottom of the frame.
It was an especially disheartening loss for the Bears, who had committed just six previous errors this season.
“I’m proud of the bats, proud they never gave up,” M-A manager Mike Amoroso said. “We hit the ball well, we pitched well, we ran the bags really well. We just didn’t play defense.”
As poorly as the Gators have swung the bats this season, errors have actually been the team’s undoing, according to SHP manager Anthony Granato. The Gators have made 23 errors through 10 games this year.
“We’ve had some games where we’ve swung the bats well, we just haven’t been consistent,” Granato said. “We’ve put a lot of pressure on ourselves by not playing good defense. Making mistakes, we’ve been doing that all year long.”
Early miscues cost SHP early. A walk and a wild pitch by starting pitcher Nathan Fleischli led to M-A’s initial run in the second. In the third, York dropped a routine fly ball to start the inning. Fleischli went on to yield an RBI single to James Sullivan, littered amid three wild pitches, the third of which scored Sullivan to give the Bears a 3-0 lead.
Trailing 3-1 in the fourth though, SHP capitalized on an M-A infield error to open the frame. After a walk to Sean Clark and a single by Eric DeBrine loaded the bases, York and Gardner produced back-to-back sacrifice flies to tie it 3-3. SHP totaled four sacrifices, each of which helped to produce runs.
M-A starting pitcher Ryan Klapper soldiered through 4 1/3 innings of work, allowing six runs (three earned) on three hits.
“He faced some adversity and got through it,” Amoroso said. “I’m proud of him.”
Facing SHP reliever Nick O’Donnell — making the first pitching appearance of his varsity career — Klapper delivered a big swing of the bat in the fifth. After an RBI double by Miles Conrad to put M-A back in front, Klapper drove home Conrad with an RBI single, staking the Bears to a 5-3 lead.
But the right-hander’s defense again betrayed him to start the fifth. After an M-A infield error and a walk to start the inning, Shafer Kraemer cranked a two-run double off the left-field wall to tie it and knock Klapper out of the game.
Then, with M-A reliever Kristopher Liang on the hill, Shafer produced a pivotal steal of third base. The steal forced M-A to play its infield in, and Clark responded by threading the needle with a sharp ground between short and third to drive home Shafer, giving the Gators a 6-5 lead.
With one out in the sixth, O’Donnell exited after surrendering back-to-back walks. And Gators right-hander DeBrine — also making his first varsity appearance — was greeted by a single by Liang to load the bases, followed by a two-out, two run single by Klapper.
SHP clawed back in the bottom of the sixth though by virtue of a two-out rally. Nick Lockareff’s two-out double was the spark. Then after an intentional walk to Andrew Daschbach, pinch hitter Brandon Semien tied it with an RBI single through the middle to score Lockareff.
DeBrine notched three strikeouts in the top of the seventh, escaping trouble after a two-out double by Nick Prainito. DeBrine worked 1 2/3 innings to earn the win.
Despite the Gators’ rough start, now they are riding high into Saturday’s nonleague matchup with Carmel in a rematch of last year’s CCS Division II championship game.
“We’re confident,” York said. “Last year we got off to a tough start too. Maybe it’s been a little tougher this year but we’re 2-2 in league now, so we’re OK.”
