With the spring season in full bloom Alameda high school athletes have made their treks from the basketball courts and soccer fields to the baseball diamonds. The spring baseball/softball season is a month into action and all six Alameda high school teams have put on some impressive performance so far.
Hornet Baseball
The Alameda High School Hornets baseball team has some outstanding wins in its 6-5-1 overall record. The Hornets are also 2-2-1 in the West Alameda County Conference (WACC). The Hornets opened the season with a 3-2 loss against Casa Grande of Petaluma, but followed it with a 7-2 victory over Piedmont on March 12. The Hornets put up 12 runs in its 12-4 victory over Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa on March 15. It was the third-straight game in which the Hornets amassed at least 10 hits. 
Alameda followed that victory with a 7-3 win over Tracy three days later. But the Hornets faced its first two-game skid of the season with a 5-0 loss to San Leandro and an 8-0 loss to Mt. Eden of Hayward. Alameda got its bats corrected with a 14-0 win over Tennyson of Hayward, a 16-2 drubbing of Hayward and an 8-1 bludgeoning of Acalanes of Lafayette. Alameda outscored its opponents 38-3 over the three-game span between March 26 and 31. The Hornets have since dropped two straight, but look to right the ship against Castro Valley tomorrow on its home turf at Lincoln Park.
Hornet Softball
The Hornet softball team has had a rough start to the season. They are currently 3-6 on the year and 1-1 in the WACC. The start is not what the Lady Hornets had in mind, but they have had some impressive wins on the season. Alameda opened the year with a 4-2 victory over Concord on March 4. Later in the season the Lady Hornets won a tough 11-9 contest over Antioch. In its third win of the year the Hornets defeated Arroyo of San Lorenzo 6-4 on March 28. The Hornets next contest is against Bishop O’ Dowd of Oakland on April 16 at home.
Jets Baseball
The Encinal High School baseball team is a solid 7-7 on the season overall, but are 5-1 in the WACC Foothill League, good for third out of six teams. The Jets opened the season losing six of its first seven games. Its lone victory during the stretch came in an 8-2 victory of Mt. Eden of Hayward on March 12. Its worse defeat was a 14-3 loss at the hands of Alhambra of Martinez on March 5. Since the poor start to the season the Jets have won six of its last seven. 
They beat Piedmont 9-1 on March 19 to start the winning streak and defeated Tennyson of Hayward 14-3 three games later. Other significant wins include a 10-0 win over Hayward on March 25 and an 11-0 stomping of Skyline of Oakland on March 29. The Jets will take on Bishop O’ Dowd on the back end of a back-to-back in its next match tomorrow on the road. 
Jets Softball
The Encinal softball team is off to a strong 7-2 start to the season. The Lady Jets are 2-1 in the WACC good for fourth out of 12 teams in the league. The Jets’ 7-2 overall record is the best overall record in the league. The Jets first win came in an 8-2 victory over Novato on March 7. The Jets amassed 26 runs in its next victory over Kennedy of Richmond. The Jets won the game 26-7 on March 10 on the road. They followed that with a measly 13-run outing in a 13-1 victory over Miramonte three days later. They beat cross-town rival Alameda 5-3 on March 19. Encinal took down Bishop O’Dowd 13-2 in its last match before spring break. The Lady Jets will play San Leandro tomorrow on its home turf at Lower Washington Park.
Pilots Baseball
The St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) baseball team is off to a 6-3 start to the 2014 season. They are also 4-2 in the Tri-County Athletic League (TACL). The Pilots started the season with a 6-4 victory over Salesian of Richmond on Feb. 21. The Pilots went on a three-game winning streak in the middle of March where they outscored its opponents (De Anza 11-2, Swett 6-0 and Richmond 10-0) 27-2. The Pilots will take on Ukiah on April 12 on the road in its next game.
Pilots Softball
The SJND softball team is cruising through the early part of its season. The Lady Pilots are currently 8-3 on the year and a perfect 5-0 in TCAL, tied for first place among 12 teams. 
The Pilots have put up some impressive offensive statistics including two wins with 14 runs, a 17-4 victory over De Anza of El Sobrante on April 2 and a 19-8 victory over Swett of Crockett on March 19. But its most impressive win came against Richmond in which the Lady Pilots won 23-10 on March 21 on the road. The Pilots will take on Rancho Cotate of Rohnert Park tomorrow in its next game. 
Contact Ekene Ikeme at eikeme@alamedasun.com.