The Carlmont junior varsity baseball team defeated the Sequoia Ravens with a score of 8-4 at Carlmont High School on Wednesday, May 8. The Scots played with passion and grit as they overcame an early deficit.
“The attitude with which we practice and train reflects a winning mentality. Despite being down three runs at one point in the match, we always keep our head up because we believe in one another,” said freshman batter Nathan Werbinski.
The Scots started the match slowly, and the Ravens capitalized on the opportunity to take an early lead. Minutes in, the Ravens scored a run, and the first inning ended with a score of 1-0. The Scots missed a throw to home plate, a critical mistake that put the Ravens ahead. Both teams did not score in the second inning, so the Ravens maintained their lead heading into the third.
Quickly into the third inning, the Ravens scored two more runs and led 3-0. They played with great control, and the Scots found no answers to the Ravens dominance.
“The boys knew they were knocking on the door and needed a clutch hit to score some runs. Multiple players managed to get on base, but the execution was slightly off,” said Scots head coach Jason Marley.
In the fourth inning, the Scots elevated their level of play on both offensive and defense, quickly shutting out the Ravens. Soon after, sophomore Michael Nishikawa stole a base, scoring after a Raven miscue.
Using the momentum from the previous inning, the Scots maintained their defensive excellence and shut out the Ravens in the fifth inning. Leading off the Scots batting sequence, sophomore Ryan Weiss hit a double to left field, and soon after, freshman Connor Chow hit a single, moving Weiss to third base. Finally, Nishikawa hit a single, and Weiss scored. The Ravens led 3-2 heading into the sixth inning.
“Clutch hitting is something our coach greatly emphasizes, and everyone executed when it mattered most. Capitalizing on opportunities helped us storm back into the match after being down multiple runs,” Weiss said.
Raven Garrett Johnson increased their lead to 4-2, halting the Scots progress of coming back. However, the Scots responded quickly, and sophomore Ben Taylor stole a base twice, scoring after Werbinski hit the ball past the Ravens outfielders. Additionally, freshman Caden Stinson and four other Scots scored in the inning, putting the Scots ahead 8-4.
Before the last inning, the Scots motivated each other to keep up their high level of play. Both teams played very defensively, and neither team scored. The final score remained 8-4.
With only one more game left of the season, the Scots are close to a three way tie for first place in their division. They plan to use this win as motivation for their final match against Sequoia in two days.
“We are hoping that the results of the other games favor us, but we are focusing on what we can control. Our goal is to do our part and win and let the rest fall into place,” Marley said.
