Matadors beat the Falcons 5-1 on April 7
On April 7, the boys varsity baseball team faced off against the Saratoga Falcons at home. A free barbecue hosted by the Spirit Commission attracted a mass of students and parents who filled up the usually quiet, empty stands. With the Falcons still acclimating to their move up to the De Anza League this season, the game was dominated by big plays from the Matadors, who beat the Falcons 5 to 1.
The Matadors began the first inning on the field, but were able to prevent the Falcons from scoring. In the bottom of the inning, juniors Grant Manley and Nathan Burroughs both scored a run.
In the second inning, the Matadors increased the lead to 4-0. Both a double and single allowed seniors Zac Carlsen and Anthony Maldonado on first and second base to score.
After an uneventful third inning, the Matadors were able to get three quick outs but were unable to score.
The Matadors displayed some great field play with a diving fly ball catch by Maldonado and a two Falcon strike out by senior Jarrod Beiser after allowing his first batter to walk to first. Junior Chris Harper scored on senior Aaron Mack’s single to make the score 5-0 in favor of the Matadors.
A last hit by junior Ryan Winston was caught as a pop fly and ended the inning.
Consistent pitching from Beiser kept the Falcons at bay 5-0. Smart throws to first base led to three outs and no runs for the Falcons. In the bottom of the sixth inning the Matadors had some solid hits but with two outs, an overly ambitious run to third earned them another out.
After six innings, pitcher and captain Beiser had pitched consistently while the Falcons still had yet to score a run. However, in the seventh and final inning, the Falcons hit a smartly placed ball into left field between third base and the mound, which allowed a Falcon on third to come home, ruining Beiser’s no run streak for the game.
