Sacred Heart Prep Stuns First-Place Carlmont

Sacred Heart Prep’s senior slugger didn’t go yard through the Gators’ first 17 games this season. In going up against first-place Carlmont Wednesday at SHP though, Daschbach teed off in grand style.

Daschbach’s second-inning grand slam paced the Gators to a 7-3 victory, handing Carlmont its first loss of the season.

It is a big win with SHP (4-4 in PAL Bay, 6-12 overall) at the crossroads of a season that has not gone according to plan. After winning the Central Coast Section Division II championship last year, the Gators have struggled to string together victories, and have managed just a .214 team batting average this season.

So, SHP manager Anthony Granato shook things up last week. While Daschbach has been one of the Gators’ most consistent hitters with a .323 batting average, his .553 on-base percentage is somewhat misleading in that it is more a product of opposing teams pitching around the Stanford-bound slugger.

In response, Granato decided to go with the flow, moving Daschbach to the leadoff spot last Friday. The senior has responded by going 3 for 6 with four RBIs and four runs scored through two victories, including a 2-for-4 performance Wednesday against the Scots.

“I think we were struggling a little bit,” Daschbach said. “We needed some spark, some change. Me batting leadoff opens things up … and hopefully helps us out.”

The lineup shift is only half the story for the future Cardinal. Having served solely as a corner infield throughout his entire SHP career, the athletic 6-3 Daschbach also shifted to shortstop for the Gators last Friday, marking the first time he’s played the position since his 14-year-old Babe Ruth team. According to Granato, Daschbach is there to stay as to give the error-plagued Gators more veteran leadership in the middle of the diamond.

“The first time I practiced there was last Thursday, so I’m getting more comfortable and getting my feet under me,” Daschbach said.

Carlmont has featured a juggernaut lineup this season — entering into play batting .383 as a team — and came out swinging Wednesday against SHP starting pitcher Cole Spina. The Scots opened with a double from Tyler Brandenburg and a single from Andy Cross, putting two runners in scoring position.

But Carlmont could not cash in. Spina kept the Scots off the board in the first and settled in to retire the next eight batters in order. The junior left-hander went five innings to earn his first win of the season, allowing one run on four hits.

“He did a great job,” Granato said. “He got ahead of most guys … and he was challenging them.”

Meanwhile, the Gators offense opened up a big lead in a hurry. Daschbach opened the bottom of the first with a double and stole third base before scoring on an RBI single by cleanup hitter John McGrory.

In the second inning, the first three Gators reached base. Eric DeBrine and Justin Harmon tabbed back-to-back singles and Michael York got hit by a pitch to load the bases. But the bottom of the SHP batting order couldn’t bring home a run, turning over the lineup with two outs for Daschbach.

That’s when the Gators’ new leadoff hitter showed his baseball savvy. Carlmont starting pitcher Matt Reilly had opened four previous at-bats with curveballs. So, as Daschbach looked on from the on-deck circle, he dialed in the deuce.

“I turned to (teammate) Shafer Kramer and said, ‘I bet I get a first-pitch curveball,’” Daschbach said. “I got it and I didn’t miss it.”

The result was a majestic shot well over the wall in left-center field for Daschbach’s first home run of the year, and the second grand slam of his varsity career.

While there was no place to put Daschbach on the base paths in that situation, Carlmont manager Rich Vallero had already decided to buck the recent trend of giving Daschbach the Barry Bonds treatment and actually pitch to the perpetual home run threat.

“We like to compete and we’ve committed to going after Daschbach,” Vallero said. “And he came up and showed why he’s going to Stanford.”

Carlmont (6-1, 15-3) still made the game interesting in the late innings. Getting into the SHP bullpen, the Scots pushed single runs across in the fifth, sixth and seventh and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in their final at-bat. But Gators right-hander Nick O’Donnell buckled down to end the game with a strikeout to earn his first save of the season.

Harmon added two hits for SHP, while Cross and Spencer Stewart had two hits apiece for Carlmont.

With the win, SHP moves into fourth place in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division, trailing first-place Carlmont by three games with nine to play. The Gators and Scots go at it again Friday, wrapping up the two-game Friday at Carlmont at 4 p.m.

“Our destiny is in our hands to where if we take care of our business … good things can happen for us, and possibly we’re working for a league championship,” Granato said.

Carlmont cleanup hitter Vinny Bologna left the game in the fourth inning with a recurring quad injury after aggravating it while running hard to first base. Vallero listed Bologna as day-to-day going forward.

“We’ll play it by ear,” Vallero said. “He’s huge for our club and he’s in the long-term plan. So, we need him healthy at the end.”