Morgan Hill
– Sobrato pitched well Wednesday. Chris Mendoza pitched better.
The Branham sophomore scattered four singles and struck out seven
in pitching the Bruins to a 5-0 Blossom Valley Athletic League
Santa Teresa Division win over host Sobrato.
Morgan Hill – Sobrato pitched well Wednesday. Chris Mendoza pitched better.
The Branham sophomore scattered four singles and struck out seven in pitching the Bruins to a 5-0 Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division win over host Sobrato.
“We’ve been pitching pretty well all season,” Bulldogs’ coach Shorty Gutierrez said. “Either we make mistakes or don’t hit.”
Branham has won nine in a row because of its hitting. The Bruins had scored six or more runs in every game except their loss to Live Oak in the Salinas Preseason Tournament. Sobrato hurlers Kevin Sullivan and Taylor O’Connell kept hard-hitting Branham in check.
The teams exchanged zeroes for four innings with Sullivan matching Mendoza pitch for pitch. And then the Bruins (11-1 overall, 7-0 BVAL) pushed across two runs. Kevin Wallace started the inning with a base hit. A fielder’s choice grounder delivered the first run and Daniel Scholl’s RBI single brought in the second.
Branham scored its other three runs in the seventh. Mendoza doubled, Craig Hertler knocked in a run with a triple, Scholl hit a sacrifice fly, Michael Durham doubled and an error accounted for the final Bruin tally. Durham was the only player in the game with two hits.
Meanwhile, Sullivan, O’Connell, Ryan Melicker and Billy Birell each collected one hit for Sobrato.
“We have to bring all three phases to each game,” said Gutierrez, mentioning pitching, hitting and eliminating mistakes. “And we need to have intensity. We could be a real good team if we brought all of them to the plate every game.”
Branham is one of the better teams in the division. The Bruins and Oak Grove each dropped down from the “A” league (Mt. Hamilton Division) last year. Sobrato has already split with the Eagles, posting a 12-4 win before falling 2-0 last Friday.
Thus, the Bulldogs have been shut out twice right after putting up 23 runs in wins over Evergreen Valley and Oak Grove.
“We should be able to hang with everybody,” Gutierrez said. “We split with Oak Grove (and Evergreen Valley). We have confidence. It’s just a matter of getting it done.”
Sobrato gets another shot at Branham at 3:30pm today in San Jose.
