The Paly baseball team (5-3, 2-0 SCVAL) took advantage of wild Mountain View pitching to pound the Spartans 13-0 on Friday afternoon at home.
Pitcher Kevin Kannappan (’12) got the start for the Vikings and scattered four singles over four innings of shutout work to earn the win.
“Sometimes I sped things up and wasn’t in my groove,” Kannappan said. “But I knew I needed to slow down, focus on the strike zone and trust my pitches, and everything fell in perfectly.”
Paly grabbed the lead in the third after back-to-back singles from third baseman Drake Swezey (’11) and right fielder Jeff Cohen (’11). Swezey later scored on an overthrown back-pick to third, while left fielder Cory Tenanes (’11) knocked in Cohen with a sacrifice fly and first baseman T.J. Braff (’11) singled home Bono.
The Vikings tacked on one more in the fourth after designated hitter Christian Lonsky (’12) crushed a triple to the center field wall and scored on a Jack Witte (’12) single, but blew the game open in the fifth.
The first 11 Paly hitters of the inning reached base, the first nine of whom scored. Mountain View pitchers struggled mightily, walking seven in the frame.
Witte, Paly’s second baseman, put the game away for good when he drilled a three-run triple to the right-center field fence to put the Vikings up 8-0.
“With runners in scoring position and two strikes, I was looking to put one in the air to get a sac fly and move the runners over,” Witte said. “Our coach tells us to hunt fastballs, and if you see one, hit it.”
Witte finished 2-for-3 with four RBI.
Paly pitchers Sam Maliska (’11), Arun Varma (’12) and Clay Carey (’12) each tossed a hitless inning to close out the game.
The Viking pitching staff allowed only two base runners past first in the game.
Paly is finding its groove and after starting the season 1-3, has gone 4-0 and outscored opponents 51-1 during the streak.
The Vikings will take on Cupertino at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday at home.
Notes:
-Paly shortstop Austin Braff (’12) played his first game for the Vikings after becoming eligible to play after transferring from a different school.
-Paly outfielder B.J. Boyd (’12) sat out the game with a sprained ankle suffered on March 7.
Box Score:
MV 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PA 0 0 3 1 9 0 –
Hitting:
Bono: 0/1, 3BB, R
Tenanes: 0/2, RBI
A. Braff: 0/2, 2BB, R, SB
T.J. Braff: 1/2, 1B, RBI, BB, R
Glazier: 0/1, BB, HBP, R
Lonsky: 2/3, 3B, 1b, RBI, 2R, K
Witte: 2/3, 1b, 3B, 4RBI, R
Swezey: 1/2, 1B, BB, RBI, 2R
Cohen: 1/1, 1B, 2BB, R
Lauing: 0/1, BB, R
Carey: 1/1, 1B, RBI
Brown: 0/1, K
Maliska: 0/1, K
Cleasby: 1/1, 1B, RBI
Wong: 0/1, K
Payne: 0/1, K
Dickerson: 0/1
Marchant: 0/1
