The Carlmont Scots varsity boys baseball team were defeated by the Sequoia Ravens in an 8-0 loss on Friday, May 16.
The Scots finished the regular season with a league record of 7-7, which placed them in third, and were 13-14 overall. The Ravens finished 7-7 in the league, in fourth place with an overall record of 15-12.
“The energy was good the whole game. They played hard, they stayed as a team, rooted for each other the entire game, and battled through adversity,” said Carlmont assistant coach Trey Kujiraoka. “It’s not the outcome that we wanted, but it’s the way the game goes sometimes.”
The Scots quickly got on base following a hit from senior Reilly Becker. Becker was able to advance to second base after a bunt from senior Jason Tofigh. However, the Ravens’ fielding halted the Scots’ efforts to score.
It remained scoreless throughout the bottom of the first inning as the Scots infielders fielded hits and successfully turned them into outs.
Coming into the second inning, Ravens pitcher, junior Morgan Winfield, successfully struck out one Carlmont batter, which was later followed by a sliding catch from Sequoia sophomore Luke Ostrander to end the top half of the inning.
“It was nice to play a clean game today,” said Sequoia assistant coach Jonathan Romanowsky. “On Wednesday, our defense was a little bit below our expectations.”
The Ravens tallied the first run after a home run from Winfield off the first pitch of the bottom of the second. Sequoia quickly gained momentum as they followed the home run with a two-base hit. The Scots were able to respond after Carlmont pitcher, sophomore Nathan Werbinski, struck out Sequoia senior Cameron Abrams.
However, the Ravens were able to capitalize on an error made by the Scots after the ball was thrown too high to first base, leading to two more runs, which brought the score to 3-0 in favor of the Ravens.
The Ravens got two players on base during the third inning after a base hit followed by a hit by pitch. Winfield was able to capitalize on this opportunity, hitting a three-run home run into deep left field to extend the Ravens’ lead to 6-0.
“It was great to come back after a tough loss last game,” Romanowsky said. “We have a philosophy of when you lose or when you fail, you learn from that and move forward, and it was great to have resilience.”
The Scots made a pitching change during the bottom of the fourth inning as Carlmont junior Levi Wellman took to the mound. The Scots showed defensive strength after a throw from Carlmont catcher Kaito Kobayashi to senior Pano Koutoulas prevented a Ravens player from stealing a base, getting Carlmont an out.
However, the Ravens’ hitting proved superior as a hit from Sequoia senior Logan Mathias drew in two more Raven runs, making the score 8-0, with Sequoia in the lead.
The Scots found some momentum at the bottom of the fifth as Wellman struck out two batters in a row to end the inning.
The Scots experienced minor success at the start of the sixth inning after a hit from Carlmont senior Jonathan Fong, though the ball was fielded and thrown to first for the out. Carlmont junior Ryan Weiss followed up with another infield hit, though he was tagged out when he attempted to steal.
As the bottom of the sixth inning approached, the Scots made another pitching change, putting in Carlmont sophomore Arnav Prathipati. The Scots caught all three of the Ravens’ hits, ending the inning.
“We did a good job with our resiliency, being able to play until the last out, and our effort,” said Carlmont head coach Ryan Hamilton.
The Ravens were able to close out the game, fielding hits from Carlmont junior Mitchell Giacomini and senior John Dunne and throwing the ball in time to get the two out.
Despite the loss, Kujiraoka has a lot of faith in his team and the Scots’ potential as CCS approaches.
“Today might be a step backwards, but I think with some little corrections and some more quality at-bats, they will bring it together and be able to be very competitive,” Kujiraoka said.
