SAN FRANCISCO – Host Marin Catholic improved to 12-3 and 8-3 in the Marin County Athletic League with a 7-1 win over Branson on Tuesday afternoon, but the buzz about the baseball team on the Kentfield campus prior to facing the Bulls was about the Wildcats' appearance on Saturday at Oracle Park.
Marin Catholic got a clutch triple from star shortstop Carl Schmidt and rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh inning to knock off San Rafael, 5-2, at the home of the San Francisco Giants.
The game was a pitchers duel between starters Jack Healey (San Rafael) and Kody Perry (Marin Catholic). Healy allowed just three hits and struck out five in five scoreless innings before giving way to the bullpen, while Perry went the distance, allowing just two runs on six hits.
Perry's only struggles occurred in the fifth inning, when San Rafael scored both of its runs and picked up four of its six hits. Max Hattenbach walked and scored the first run of the game on a sacrifice by Anthony Gil and Luke Davis drove in Cassius Allen with an RBI single.
Sophomore Marcos Tolliver relieved Healy in the sixth and walked the bases loaded with one out. However, he recovered by striking out the final two batters of the inning and turned the ball over to senior Max Shilstone in the seventh.
"We had some chances early and we didn't take advantage," said Marin Catholic head coach and former San Francisco Giant pitcher Jesse Foppert.
Jayden Lee, Emmet George and Mike Fliegel led off the seventh with base hits against Shilstone to load the bases with no outs. Senior Greg Schiff walked to force in a run to make it 2-1.
Shilstone nearly got out of the inning when he struck out the next two batters, but with Schmidt at the plate, a wild pitch tied the game and put runners on second and third. On a 2-1 pitch, Schmidt laced a triple just out of the reach of the diving right fielder inside the right-field line to make it 4-2.
"I knew something was gonna happen," said Schmidt, who had struck out twice and popped up in his previous three plate appearances. "On my last chance I had to give my team a chance to win. It was amazing. I don't think I've ever felt something this great."
"He hadn't had the best day, definitely not his normal self for the first couple at-bats," said Foppert of his star shortstop. "Having him come up at the end was huge."
Perry knocked in Schmidt with a base hit to make it 5-2 and shut down the Bulldogs in the bottom half of the inning to seal his complete-game victory.
“I know he had a little bit of a bump in the fifth inning, he still made some good pitches, and it was his game to finish," said Foppert.
