Carlmont’s varsity baseball team beat the Aragon Dons 3-2 in a close match on March 8. This marked another significant victory for the Scots. They were eager to beat the Dons again as they had defeated them earlier in the week, and they hoped to keep their confidence high.
“We always want to start the game off hot, and with us barely squeaking one away on Tuesday, we wanted to come out firing and get under their skin very quickly,” said junior shortstop Pano Koutoulas.
The Scots started the game off strong with senior catcher Joseph Prieto hitting a single, getting himself on first base. Later in that sequence, senior outfielder Kenny Chu put the Scots up two runs with a hit that brought two of his teammates to home plate.
Even though the Scots had the early lead over the Dons, Aragon did not back down. The Dons were quickly able to get on the scoreboard with a single by getting the batter on base and bringing in one runner to make the score 2-1.
“The first few minutes were intense, but we managed to get the early lead. We were able to set the tone for the game,” said junior catcher Kaito Kobayashi.
In the second inning of the game, the match got heated. Many of the Scots were speaking verbal interference to the Dons. Although this happened, neither team was able to score more runs in the next few innings.
After the Scots ended the fourth inning, they changed pitchers. Adam Bailey stepped onto the mound for the first time. Bailey was pitching a great game, not allowing any runs and very few hits.
Suddenly, the momentum of the game swung. Senior Noah Werbinski tagged off of a teammate’s single and ran it home to give the Scots a 3-1 lead.
As the game progressed, both teams were in a scoring drought. Batters from both sides made contact with the ball, but they were mostly pop-outs, so the players rarely got on base.
We always want to start the game off hot, and with us barely squeaking one away on Tuesday, we wanted to come out firing and get under their skin very quickly.
— Pano Koutoulas
In the final innings, Jordan Kiaaina, a senior shortstop for the Dons, was welcomed to home plate by his team and put the score to 3-2. However, the Dons were not able to tie the game following Kiaaina’s run, ending the game at 3-2. Although they had numerous runners on base, it was not enough, as Bailey threw a series of clutch pitches to finish the game.
The Scots have high hopes for this season, as they have won four of their last six games. They are very determined and are preparing immensely for their game on the road against Mountain View.
“This season we expect to win the league and make a deep Central Coast Section playoff run as well as continue to show the Peninsula Athletic League what Carlmont Baseball is about,” Koutoulas said.
