The Encinal High School (EHS) baseball team went 1-1 over spring break, beating Hercules High School, 14-0, on April 12 and losing to Concord High School, 2-0, on April 14. The loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Jets.

“Although we lost to Concord, it was probably the best game we played all year as a team,” said EHS senior Andy Truong. “We played good defensively and kept the game close but just couldn’t get the win.”

Encinal (7-10) and Concord (7-9) were tied 0-0 going into the fifth inning. The Minutemen scored two runs in the bottom of the inning, one off an error. Senior Jacob Baca pitched 4.2 innings and allowed just one run.

“They were a good team,” said senior infielder Chadd Edwards. “The elements also played a part too with the rain and the wind blowing in. The defense played amazing that game. We were a few hiccups away from a 0-0 ballgame.”

The loss ended Encinal’s win streak in which the Jets outscored opponents 80-0 over five games. The Jets are currently first in the West Alameda County Conference (WACC) Shoreline League.

“It was a great team accomplishment,” said coach Trevor Sampson. “However, our ultimate goal of winning league is still our focus.”

EHS pitcher Alex De La O has been dominant in his last three outings, going 3-0 with an era of 0.00. He threw a perfect game against Tennyson High of Hayward on March 30. He struck out nine batters against Mt. Eden High of Hayward in the Hornets 10-0 win on April 5. Lastly, he struck out eight batters over five innings against Hercules.

“It was great to go on a five-game run,” said EHS sophomore Angus Olaes. “It really felt like we were playing complete with very little flaws.”

Encinal began a two-game home-and-home series against Hayward High School yesterday. The second game of the back-to-back takes place Friday, April 22 on the road.

St. Joseph Notre Dame
St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) improved their overall record to 11-5 after a 2-0 shutout victory over Albany High on April 11. Senior ace Dylan Stewart was stellar again on the mound. The Pepperdine University-commit struck out 12 batters in his complete-game shutout of the Cougars. He allowed just two hits and walked five batters.

Albany was also solid on the mound. Starting Cougar pitcher Kajuan Stuart allowed just one earned run and one hit in five innings. The junior threw two strikeouts in the outing.

Pilot junior Tommy Cooke was the only SJND batter to get a hit in the contest. The infielder went 2-of-3 from the plate and had the Pilots’ lone RBI.
The contest was the last game before SJND went on an elongated Spring Break. Their next game will be against Bentley School of Lafayette on April 26.

Alameda High
Alameda High School accumulated 17 hits in their 9-6 victory over West High of Vallejo on April 16.

The Hornets (11-5) set the tone early with four runs in the top of the first inning. They scored four more runs combined in the next two innings. Alameda added a run in the top of the sixth inning to give them a 9-2 lead. Just when the Hornets would coast to victory, the Wolf Pack added two runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings. However, the Hornets were able to get the final out to end the Wolf Pack’s comeback attempt.

The Hornets are third in the WACC Foothill League with a 3-2 record. Alameda began a home-and-home series with San Leandro High on Wednesday. The second game is Friday, April 22 at home.