Sports
BASEBALL (Junior Varsity): Monta Vista Rolls Over Milpitas
Matadors explode for 13 runs in fourth inning to mercy their way past Trojans.
The Score: Monta Vista 14, Milpitas 0.
The Star: Despite all the offensive fireworks going off during a monster fourth inning for the host team, Monta Vista starting pitcher Spencer Rodrigues was in control no matter what the score was on this day. The right hander mixed speeds and moved the ball nicely all over the strike zone, pitching five scoreless innings in the 14-0 Monta Vista victory on a chilly Tuesday afternoon at Monta Vista High. An afternoon swap of venues switched the varsity game that had been scheduled to be played at Monta Vista over to the turf field at Milpitas High in case of afternoon showers.
No rain came, just a whole lot of offense by the hosts wearing white and purple.
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Lead-off man Drew Granzella and cleanup hitter Spencer Rodrigues both knocked in two runs on the day—both came in the double digit scoring surge in the bottom half of the fourth—helping their team cruise to a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division triumph.
The Turning Point: Ahead 1-0 going into the bottom of the fourth, the pitchers dual turned ugly in a hurry. The first 11 batters of the inning reached base, five of them on errors. The Trojans had five errors and seven passed balls in the frame, allowing the Matadors to break open the game. Because of the double digit lead, the game was called after five innings. Granzella stroked an RBI double to the gap to bring in two runners and push the lead to 5-0. Three batters later, Rodrigues hammered a deep shot to the wall to bring home two more runners. The RBI triple made the score 9-0 Monta Vista.
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What's Next? The two teams will meet up again on Thursday afternoon (weather permitting) at Milpitas High.
Bottom Line: Milpitas starting pitcher Abel Martinez only yielded one hit and zero earned runs through the first three innings of play. His defense however, couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain. Dealing with some chilly conditions, a choppy infield and some swirling winds, Mother Nature didn’t do the Trojans any favors on this afternoon.
Brent Kuhne stroked the first Milpitas hit of the day in the third inning. David Kruskamp and Anthony Garay also added singles for the Trojans. Milpitas falls to 3-6 overall and 1-2 in league play after the road defeat.
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