A Great Baseball Season Comes to a Close for SHP
Valley Christian 8, SHP 0
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The sixth-seeded Gators finished their season at 21-7 (after winning 10 games all of last year) while third-seeded Valley Christian improved to 27-3-1. The Warriors, ranked No. 1 in the country by maxpreps.com, moves on to the semifinals to face second-seeded San Benito.
“It was a good game for those three to four innings,” said Gators manager Anthony Granato. “Then all of the sudden they get all those runs and they get to relax, they’re good hitters. The pressure gets back on us and they score more runs and it is what it is. I’m just proud of the fact that we didn’t beat ourselves. We didn’t let the pressure of the game get to us, they showed it.”
The Warriors starting pitcher Patrick Wicklander, who pitched two no-hitters during the regular season, came up large again. The Gators didn’t have an answer for him early on. Sacred Heart couldn’t get a base runner over the first three innings.
Sacred Heart starting pitcher Angelo Tonas also had a solid start. The senior got through the first two innings of scoreless ball against the dangerous Warriors offense.
Valley Christian started to make a little noise in the third. Coleman Brigman smacked a ball to left field for a double, bringing home Jack McGrew to make it 1-0.
In the fourth, Sacred Heart's Ryan Freire got the Gators first hit with a line drive to center. The senior stole second base but the offense couldn’t drive him in.
The Warriors broke it open in the fourth, scoring six runs on six hits.
For Wicklander, it was more than often. The lefty struck out eight and gave up just two hits.
“They were a determined group from the beginning,” said Granato, who just finished his fourth-year as the Gator manager. “From the end of last season to now they had their mind set on what they wanted to achieve.
"Our number one focus was to win our league, to get ourselves in the position to play against the best there is, that’s your whole goal. They were determined and they did it, they won their league. To get to this game and play a good team like them -- I’m proud of my guys, I really am.”
Tonas and fellow seniors Dominic Cacchione and Eric DeBrine were freshman on SHP's CCS championship team.
Back
Sacred Heart Prep is a league baseball champion and won more than twice as many games as it did a year ago. Losing, on its home field, in the first round of the Central Coast Section Open Division, 8-0, to Valley Christian on Saturday doesn't change any of that.
The sixth-seeded Gators finished their season at 21-7 (after winning 10 games all of last year) while third-seeded Valley Christian improved to 27-3-1. The Warriors, ranked No. 1 in the country by maxpreps.com, moves on to the semifinals to face second-seeded San Benito.
“It was a good game for those three to four innings,” said Gators manager Anthony Granato. “Then all of the sudden they get all those runs and they get to relax, they’re good hitters. The pressure gets back on us and they score more runs and it is what it is. I’m just proud of the fact that we didn’t beat ourselves. We didn’t let the pressure of the game get to us, they showed it.”
The Warriors starting pitcher Patrick Wicklander, who pitched two no-hitters during the regular season, came up large again. The Gators didn’t have an answer for him early on. Sacred Heart couldn’t get a base runner over the first three innings.
Sacred Heart starting pitcher Angelo Tonas also had a solid start. The senior got through the first two innings of scoreless ball against the dangerous Warriors offense.
Valley Christian started to make a little noise in the third. Coleman Brigman smacked a ball to left field for a double, bringing home Jack McGrew to make it 1-0.
In the fourth, Sacred Heart's Ryan Freire got the Gators first hit with a line drive to center. The senior stole second base but the offense couldn’t drive him in.
The Warriors broke it open in the fourth, scoring six runs on six hits.
For Wicklander, it was more than often. The lefty struck out eight and gave up just two hits.
“They were a determined group from the beginning,” said Granato, who just finished his fourth-year as the Gator manager. “From the end of last season to now they had their mind set on what they wanted to achieve.
"Our number one focus was to win our league, to get ourselves in the position to play against the best there is, that’s your whole goal. They were determined and they did it, they won their league. To get to this game and play a good team like them -- I’m proud of my guys, I really am.”
Tonas and fellow seniors Dominic Cacchione and Eric DeBrine were freshman on SHP's CCS championship team.
Sacred Heart Schools Atherton
Founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart, SHS is a Catholic, independent, co-ed day school for students in preschool through grade 12
