The opening day of the annual Willie Stargell Easter tournament was a success for Alameda’s two public school baseball teams. Both Alameda and Encinal put together resounding wins in the tournament named after the National Baseball Hall of Famer and Alameda native.

Encinal beat Deer Valley 3-0 Saturday, April 1, on day one of the three-day tournament. The game was played at Stargell’s alma mater Encinal High School, the event’s host.

Encinal scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning. The game went into an offensive lull after that as both teams did not score for the next four innings. The Jets were able to pad their lead with a run in the bottom of the sixth.

The Jets controlled the game with their defense led by pitcher Sandeep Mahl. Mahl, a junior, pitched a complete-game (seven-inning) shutout, giving up just five hits. He struck out eight batters without giving up a walk. 

Junior Osiris Johnson and sophomore George Chabre both went 2-for-3 from the plate. Johnson scored two runs, while Chabre drove in a run. Sophomore first baseman Tristen Good drove in the two other runs, while going 1-for-3 from the plate. Junior Ricky Martinez went 1-for-3 from the plate as well.

The Jets’ record moved to 7-4. The Jets played Concord on day two of the tournament Tuesday, April 4. The winner moved on to the championship game yesterday.

Alameda also got a big 5-1 win over Oakland Tech in day one Saturday, April 4. The Hornets, like Encinal, got off to a great start. Both teams scored a run in the first inning, but the Hornets put the game away with three runs in the bottom of the second. The Hornets added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth. 

The Hornets roughed up the Bulldogs’ starting pitcher Ben Young. He allowed seven hits in just three innings. He also gave up four runs (two earned) in the contest.

The Hornets’ record moved to 6-5 on the season. They played Granada of Livermore on Tuesday. The winner played in the championship game yesterday.

Concord beat Pinole Valley 6-0 and Granada beat Antioch 8-2 in the other first-round match ups.