Varsity baseball faces Menlo-Atherton

On April 15, while most other students were prepping for the Prom, the Aragon Varsity Baseball team met the Menlo Atherton Bears for the second time this season.

The Dons have had a difficult season so far, with their PAL record of 1 win, 5 losses, and 0 ties (1-5-0). In the past three years the Dons have always made it to CCS; however, this year, loss of player Sam Tuivailala, who was recruited by the St. Louis Cardinals, seems to have changed the team dynamics.

At the top of the first inning with sophomore Aldo Severson pitching, the Dons allowed two hits. Senior Sam Pacholuk made an error that allowed the two runners on base to each advance one base. After a fly out, Menlo Atherton’s Sam Falkenhagen drove home the two runners with a double. When Falkenhagen tried to steal third, Severson connected with second baseman, senior Mitch Auer, who picked off Falkenhagen to end the inning.

With the Dons at bat, Pacholuk walked, then attempted to steal second, but safely dove back to first base. When senior Tyler Outzen hit a double along the right foul line, Pacholuk scored Aragon’s first run. At the end of the first inning the score was 2-1.

Aragon gave up five runs in the second inning, mainly due to errors from dropped balls lost in the bright sun. Menlo Atherton also displayed great prowess at bat, and the inning ended 7-1.

Neither side scored for the next two innings, as both sides dug in their heels with their defense. In the third inning, senior Trevor McNeil caught a fly ball to end the inning stranding runners on 1st and 2nd.

Auer gained his defensive rhythm in the fourth inning, catching the first fly ball and making a play with first baseman, junior Greg Lyons to prevent the runner from reaching first. The inning ended when senior Nolan Freitag caught a fly ball, leaving runners on first and third.

At the top of the fifth, Dylan Cook of Menlo Atherton was able to work his way around the bases and scored the only run of the inning, while the Aragon defense prevented other runners from following.

Aragon, down 8-1, put on their game faces and did not permit anyone on base in the sixth. When the Dons came to the plate, Senior CJ Sandino managed to get to third by stealing second followed by an Outzen single, but was unable to reach home.

In the final inning, the Dons worked together, with Pacholuk connecting with Lyons to tag a runner out at first, and Freitag catching two flies to quickly retire the Bears.

First up at the bottom of the seventh, Auer walked. While trying to pick off Auer, the Menlo Atherton first baseman stepped on Auer’s hand. The Umpire awarded Auer second for this unsportsmanlike conduct. After Junior Tom Sortwell walked, Freitag got the first hit of the inning loading the bases.

Junior Davarian Redd, the designated hitter, hit a single, bringing Auer home. The bases were still loaded and Aragon was down by 6 until McNeil stepped up to the plate and hit a double, driving Sortwell and Freitag home. Excitement perked in the air as Aragon was on a roll; Sandino hit a single driving Redd home. With the score now 8-5, the Dons saw a ray of hope. After Pacholuk struck out, Outzen walked. With runners on first and third, Auer, the tying run, stepped up to the plate. Sadly, he struck out, leaving the final score 8 -5.

After the game, Tim McNeil, a writer for godons.com, said, “[The Dons] played their hearts out, [but] made a couple of errors that cost the game.” Senior Alex Venosa commented on the 7th inning comeback, “It goes to show we’re always fighting.” And Outzen remarked how with each new the Dons had to “pick up our heads and make a play and forget about it.” The next home game will be at 4 p.m. on April 27, against Terra Nova.