Legacy’s Offense leads to Winning Week
The Menlo Park Legacy had another eventful week on the field with a win against the West Coast Kings Black and Alameda Anchors, improving their Bay Area Collegiate League (BACL) record to 7-3 heading into this week.
Although the team faced two tough losses Sunday and Tuesday to the West Coast Kings both ending in a 5-4 score, Menlo came back hard last Thursday and managed to defeat the West Coast Kings Black 8-3 at College of San Mateo. It took the lineup a couple of innings to get their bats going, but a double in the bottom of the fourth by Stuart Cash tied the game at two. Dom Najar and Tyler Wong also managed to collect two hits each, both going 2-3 at the plate. Mateo Blandino also had a great performance with a double in the bottom of the fifth which scored two runs. Aside from a total of nine hits, the Legacy also showed patience and discipline in the box, racking up nine walks for the game, and made chaos around the diamond with seven stolen bases, multiple coming from Najar and Kieran Baker.
Ryan Johnson started on the mound for Menlo, allowing two hits and two runs (one earned) over three innings, with three walks and four punch outs. Chris Rudell earned the win for Menlo Park Legacy, giving up five hits and one run over four innings, with no walks and four strikeouts in relief. Cole Dixon and Christian Klostermann each threw one scoreless inning for the team.
The following day, Menlo grabbed another victory in a nail-biter against the Alameda Anchors, winning 13-12 in the bottom of the tenth. The lineup was strong at the plate, collecting 13 hits and nine walks. The lineup got ahead in the first with a run coming from Blandino’s sacrifice fly and singles by Ryan Farr and Blake Cowans. However, the score bounced back and forth between both teams, as Legacy tied it up in the fourth on a wild pitch and again in the eighth thanks to a triple by Baker and a sacrifice fly by Wong. Menlo retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a wild pitch and a second time to end the game.
The team entered this final inning down by two runs, but a two-run single from Baker and another sacrifice fly from Wong gave Legacy the win. Baker had an outstanding performance at the plate going 3-6. Multiple players ran wild on the base paths as Cowans, Wong, Farr, Jon Ringer, and Roman Trinidad tallied seven stolen bases.
Owen Swanson led things off on the bump for Menlo, allowing seven hits and six runs over four innings with two walks and three strikeouts. Quinten Selway earned the win with two hits and one run over two innings, walking one and striking out one. Sean DeBoard also showed strength on the bump, pitching three innings of no-run ball.
Although their third win of the week was non-conference, Menlo Park Legacy won big over Southbay Storm on Saturday 10-0 in a quick seven inning matchup. Jesus Munguia earned an impressive win for the team, allowing three hits and zero runs over seven innings, walking two and striking out four.
Menlo collected 10 hits on the day, with Kyler Bittner, Danelle Daniels, and Raul Soria contributing two hits each. Daniels led Legacy with four runs batted in, going 2-4. Legacy showed a clean performance defensively, committing no errors.
Legacy’s pitcher of the week was Ben Eisenhauer, who pitched four innings, allowed only two hits and picked up four strikeouts. No surprise, Wong was the team’s hitter of the week. He hit .368 with a .914 OPS, and racked up five runs and three RBIs.
Menlo Park Legacy has a light schedule this week. The team plays a three game series against the Bercovich Honors starting this evening at San Ramon Valley High School followed by home games Friday evening and Sunday afternoon at College of San Mateo for the final face-off between these two teams this season. Menlo plans on rescheduling yesterday’s postponed game against the California Red Tails to July 8th at home.
