The crowd erupted in cheers as the HHS varsity baseball team played the Santa Clara Bruins on the May 15 Senior Night. With flowers, posters and family members filling the stands, players roared with energy as they took the field for one of their final home games of the season.
Setting the tone early, right-hand pitcher, senior Monty Morrison said he took the mound in a surprise start after being called in during the first inning.
“Coach was like, ‘Hey, come here, Monty, you’re starting,'” Morrison said. “I was like, ‘Yo, that’s crazy.’ But starting off, I felt pretty good with three scoreless innings. It was a pretty good game for us.”
Neither team scored in the first inning, but the Mustangs broke through in the second when first baseman and pitcher, junior Ajay Lohitsa sent a shot toward the outfield, setting a lead of 1-0.
The third inning proved to be the turning point as shortstop, senior Drew Hamburger launched a ball deep to left center field, clearing the bases and pushing the lead to 4-0, coach Travis Sunseri said.
“During that third inning, Drew hit a ball to left center field, which kind of turned into a little league home run,” Sunseri said. “It’s just a matter of capitalizing on the mistakes that [the Bruins] had and being able to cause havoc on a team and make them play a little more under pressure.”
With the lead secured, Hamburger said that the Mustangs’ pitchers cornered the Bruins for the remainder of the game.
“We were sound defensively the whole game,” Hamburger said. “Offensively, [we] had a little bit of a flat stretch, but ultimately we had good energy today, and it brought us the [win].”
Behind the plate, catcher, sophomore Joshua Fraleigh said it was important for the team to maintain morale throughout the game.
“Sometimes, we couldn’t execute when we had runners in scoring position,” Fraleigh said. “But if we get that done, we’ll continue to thrive through CCS.”
Throughout the match, outfielder, senior Spencer Jones said the team’s defensive effort supported their victory.
“We were able to lock them down on defense,” Jones said. “Our pitchers did well, didn’t walk as much and were pretty efficient. Our defense really carried us.”
As the final out was recorded with a score of 4-0, Sunseri said the win meant a lot as the last season game for the seniors.
“I’ve seen these kids for the past four years,” Sunseri said. “I appreciate all the time they put into this program and the ways that they’ve worked hard to bring these young kids under their wing and show them the way.”
