C. Bradley nearly hits for cycle; Williams pitches
two-hitter
SAN JOSE — It never fails this time of the season. Under the lights, everything comes together for Sobrato baseball.
The week after Easter has been especially good to this team the past few years. Playing in large ballparks at the Salinas/Palma Tournament, the Bulldogs brought their game to a new level and began marches to the Central Coast Section playoffs in 2008 and 2009.
“Playing under the lights in big stadiums gets everyone excited. It’s just a different feeling, a different atmosphere,” center fielder Chris Bradley said.
Sobrato backed out of the 2010 Easter Tournament held this week in Salinas because it conflicted with the Mount Hamilton Division schedule, but Shorty Gutierrez felt the time was right for his second-place club to re-enter playoff mode. The sixth-year manager moved Wednesday’s game against the fourth-place Branham Bruins to 7 p.m. in PAL Stadium, site of the CCS quarterfinals.
The Bulldogs held up their end of the bargain again, turning in one of their most impressive, well-rounded performances since last year’s 2-1 triumph over Willow Glen in the Division II semifinals at San Jose Municipal Stadium. Senior Ryan Williams, who took the hill for that twilight epic, delivered another complete-game marvel, this time a two-hitter with 92 pitches, and Bradley homered and scored three runs in a 5-1 victory.
The Bulldogs (7-7 overall, 7-4 league) remained within a game of first-place Santa Teresa with one two-game series left before the start of round-robin league play.
“The league’s beating up on each other, and we have a chance to come out on top,” said Gutierrez, whose team was not hampered by three errors. “I think this atmosphere breeds a little bit more out of us. Like with Williams; he brings it especially on a day like this, throwing a little harder.
“This time of year is just special for us. It has been in the past.”
Like the last two seasons, this one has not been without the usual blend of obstacles: injuries, players lost to grades, customary inexperience. As Bradley alluded to earlier, once the stadium lights flicker on in spring, all of that goes away.
The team’s new double-play combination of senior shortstop Tim Andrade and junior second baseman Aaron Wallace faired well Wednesday as did senior Tom Standridge, Wallace’s replacement in left field. Bryan Bradley, wearing No. 15 instead of his usual No. 19, looked just as sharp at third base as he did at shortstop with five assists. The senior looked like Brooks Robinson, Gutierrez joked.
“Bryan can play any position,” Andrade said. “He played solid D today and made it easier for me to go back to short. Chris was on, too. It’s nice hitting behind him; I always have a guy on.”
Andrade contributed an RBI double in the fifth inning after Chris Bradley led off with an stand-up triple in his final at-bat. Chris Bradley, who was coming off throwing his second no-hitter Thursday, finished a double short of hitting for the cycle. Against Branham starter Branden Perrin, the stocky senior singled during the first, then launched a solo shot over the right-center fence 350 feet away in the third.
“I would have liked another at-bat, but as long as we get the win I’m cool with it,” Chris Bradley said. “I felt like we had a lot more energy. It felt like the [Division II] championship game a year ago. I hope this gets us rolling.”
Pitching can lead the way. Williams (4-2) struck out six, walked one — the first batter he faced — and had a no-no going until the fourth when Nick Rossetta blasted a 1-2 pitch to deep left for a solo home run. Before that, Williams had a 3-0 cushion compliments of Chris Bradley and Wallace, who singled and scored from third on a misplayed ball by Perrin (1-1). Bryan Bradley spotted the towering righty another run in the fifth, singling home Andrade.
Rossetta added a double in the sixth as the collector of both hits for the visiting Bruins (8-8, 5-6).
“Ryan was focused the whole way. He was a lot more focused that in past weeks,” Gutierrez said. “I think the setting definitely helped him.”
It is a good sign for a team that won’t accept anything less than winning Sobrato High School’s first CCS team title in May. If there is one glaring mark about the Bulldogs, it is their 0-3 record in nonleague play. Two of those losses came against teams that made the postseason in 2009 — not that that’s an excuse to SHS. Gutierrez scheduled a gauntlet before this season, hoping to prime his team for another deep playoff run.
Following today’s 3:30 p.m. rematch at Branham High School, the Bulldogs will visit Palo Alto (14-3), last year’s No. 3 seed in the Division II tournament, at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“We’ve got a couple away games against some good teams coming up, and we’re going to go into them with the same mentality: Let’s go in and battle,” Gutierrez said. “This senior class is a special group that will be missed. They have a chance to go out as champions. I’ve reminded them that I’ll be here next year, but they won’t.”
