The atmosphere of the game was electric as the varsity boys baseball team faced against the Mountain View Spartans. With both teams gathered on the field, players roared with chants and applause, cheering for their respective sides.
Beginning with a rough start from the Mustangs, the Spartans shot two soaring fly balls toward the outfield, gaining an early 0-2 lead against the Mustangs. Despite initially falling behind, the Mustangs’ strong motivation kept their hopes high as batting switched, right-hand pitcher, senior Monty Morrison said.
Following a minor setback, freshman, outsider Ivan Hwang went two for four runs batted in that day, sparking the Mustangs’ comeback as they scored three runs.
Following a quick break, senior captain, shortstop and pitcher Drew Hamburger finished one for three runs with one RBI, pushing Homestead to the lead with a score of 5-2.
Throughout this rebound, the team’s success was built off of impeccable batting, coach Travis Sunseri said.
“We put up five ourselves in the bottom half of the inning,” Sunseri said. “We just stuck to our game plan, in a sense of attacking early in the at-bats and sticking to the plan as far as an offensive and defensive mindset [went].”
With this consistently strong gameplay, the sixth inning was over. After the reset in positions, the Mustangs upheld proper communication and kept energy high, catcher, sophomore Joshua Fraleigh said.
“The pitchers and I had a really good bond, and that really helped us throw strikes because the defense got balls right to them,” Fraleigh said. “We could throw them out, and I think that really helped.”
Sweeping a scoreless eighth inning for the opposing team batting, the Mustangs were back on the base for the rest of the game, ending with a final victory of 10-2.
In a previous CCS championship game, the Mustangs coincidentally lost to Mountain View, making the win feel more satisfying heading into this year’s CCS competition, Sunseri said.
“We lost in the championship game, against Mountain View, and the following year, last year, we lost in the semifinals,” Sunseri said. “We’ve been there. We know what it takes to get [to CCS], and we have the team to do it. It’s just a matter of playing good baseball down the stretch.”
