PALO ALTO – Wilcox took the lead on two occasions in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League championship game in Palo Alto early Friday.
The Vikings answered in the bottom half of each of these innings, once to draw a sum and then in the bottom half of the second to take the lead.
Once they took the lead, they never let it go in a 4-2 victory.
With the win, Palo Alto (24–5) finalized their two goals – adding the SCVAL tournament championship to the regular-season de Anza División title they had already captured. Now the team’s attention turns to the big prize of the Central Coast Section Championship.
“I’m very proud of this team,” said Palo Alto coach Pete Fukuhara, who noted the absence of injured Arizona-committee Javier Esker.
“We took our job by winning the league,” said winning pitcher Danny Peters. “And now we are closer to our big goal of winning the CCS.”
Peters, who was also Palo Alto’s football quarterback for the last three seasons, played 5 innings and improved the season to 7–2. He is headed to San Francisco State in the fall to play baseball.
Wilcox (20-9) took the lead for the first time when Patrick Sanchez doubled and scored on a single by Alan Ramirez.
Palo Alto tied it with a scored run in the bottom half of the innings. Lead off batsman Henry Bolte walks. Wilcox hurler Jesse Gutierrez threw at first base twice before making his first pitch at the plate. Bolte took off and stole another.
It was Bolte’s 46th stolen base of the season.
“An incredible player and a great youth, it’s a pleasure to be around,” Fukuhara said. “How fast he is. And what a great instinct he has at the bases.”
Texas-Comet is also batting .455 with 12 homers.
Bolte finished third on a fly out to center by Charlie Bates and scored on Rowan Felsch’s taper back to the mound. Gutierrez thought of coming home with the ball, instead going first where Felsch was said to be safe.
Bolte’s steal was the 118th of a 29-game season for Palo Alto.
Freshman Matthew Tiendes singled out home Anthony Menens as Wilcox went 2-1 in the second.
Later in the second a clear third run on a sacrificial fly for Wilcox was denied when the runner on the third was soon called on the appeal game to skip the third.
Pali loads the bases in the bottom of second and runs off RBI’s bolt and RBI hits Bates off the pitch.
Peters settled in and threw three scoreless innings before being pulled in with another one in the sixth.
“I just needed to set my mind and get my slot back in the third innings,” Peters said. “They came out strong, give them credit. It was the most energy of any team we’ve played in.”
Jack Haight relieved Peters in the sixth and served a double-play ground ball on the first pitch.
Felsch added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with a shot over the right-field fence, his sixth home run of the season.
Hight, a 5-foot-8, 155-pounder who gave the Chargers a different appearance than Peters 6-4, 230, retired the team in seventh place to make the save.
Wilcox’s left-hander Jesse Gutierrez went for 5, two walks and seven strikes.