The Mountain View baseball team managed two-out rallies in each of the first two innings to defeat host Monta Vista 11-3 Monday in a non-league game.
The Spartans (9-14 overall, 5-7 league) took a quick lead against the Matadors (10-10, 5-4) with clutch hitting in pressure situations.
“The guys really showed up ready," Mountain View coach Adam Petke said. "They showed up in the first inning when we had two outs and nobody on [base] in the first inning and we ended up with [three] runs."
Senior Matt Munoz started off the Spartans; first-inning rally with a short single to center field and rounded the bases as the next batter, Daniel Wray hit a stand-up double. This was followed by a pair of singles by seniors Nick Lillie and Will Thornton, the latter scoring Wray.
The next two batters, Clark Appelgren and Patrick McClellan were able to draw walks from Monta Vista’s starting pitcher Spencer Rodrigues, which allowed Lillie to score.
The scenario repeated itself in the second inning with Munoz drawing a walk, Wray hitting a single, and Lillie hitting a triple to clear the bases and give Mountain View a 5-0 lead.
Although the Matadors were able to score with two sacrifice flies by senior Drew Granzella in the third and the fifth and a single to right field by junior Dwight Washington, the Matadors were unable to keep up with the Spartans who were able to score consistently in every inning aside from the seventh.
“That first inning really set the tone and we've talked a lot about that throughout the season and practices," Petke said. "We want to be prepared for the first pitch and so they did that today."
Petke was also delighted with junior Sam Moore who had two triples and senior Nick Lilie who had a triple and a single.
“Anytime you have a multi-hit day especially when you have some extra base hits ... they just don't give those away," Petke said. “They've been big for us all year and I'm sure there are some other guys but those two really stick out. They get the things started and then clear the deck. They did a really nice job today."
Monta Vista coach Nick Bonacorsi, in the wake of the loss, had mixed feelings.
“We're coming off our best game of the season and followed it up with one of our worst," Bonacorsi said. “Right now, we're playing for second behind Los Gatos which is an automatic CCS berth so we're in a position where if we come out and play and beat the teams we're supposed to beat we should be fine, but like we did today, different story.”
"I'm hopeful that with the loss today it'll make [the team] hungrier and more competitive for Thursday and that we come back Thursday against a tough league opponent and show that we deserve to be where we are."
Mountain View followed up the win with a 5-0 loss at Saratoga Wednesday and takes on the Falcons again Friday at home. Monta Vista looks to get back on track Thursday at Fremont.
