Celeste Bates

Junior William Hickey throws his fastball in a regular season game. According to Hickey, the excitment going into today’s game is something he hasn’t felt before. “It’s kind of a nervous feeling,” Hickey said. “But in the best way possible.”

After a high-scoring first-round matchup Saturday, The Palo Alto High School varsity baseball team (16-12) is moving on to the CCS Division 2 semifinal game against The King’s Academy Knights (16-10-2), 4 p.m. Today at Mission College.

As expected, beating Sacred Heart Cathedral was no easy task. The Vikings stayed hot at the plate, putting up 12 runs to go against Cathedral’s seven. Juniors Henry Harding and Cormac White shared the mound for the Vikings with Harding going five and two thirds of an inning and White finishing out the last one and a third.  The duo combined for a total eight strikeouts and six earned runs.  

Freshman outfielder Justin Fung, who made the winning catch against Cathedral, says the team chemistry has been crucial ever since he got called up.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to fit in when it [getting called up] happened,” Fung said. “But these guys have really been super encouraging. And I think that speaks to what makes us a competitive team. It’s all about working hard and having fun while doing so.”

According to junior outfielder William Hickey, the team feels more together than ever going into the game, and giving them a huge confidence boost.

“This last week has been some of the most fun I’ve had playing baseball ever,” Hickey said. “There has been so much positive energy at practice, and that has really been driving us. Winning [on] Saturday only added to that.”

Hickey also said that the team dyeing its hair blond has added to the “play for each other” mentality that has been doing well for them so far.

“At the end of the day, we are all brothers,” Hickey said. “So having the same color hair is a physical representation of that, and a reminder that we are all in this together.”

The Kings Academy have been on a roll lately, losing only one game in the month of May, including a two wins against Sacred Heart Prep, a school which had beaten Paly ealier in the year.

Whichever team wins Wednesday will advance the  into the Division 2 section championship, a game which Fung says would be unsettling to not be a part of.

“We just want it so bad,” Fung said. “It would mean alot if we could get the job done.”

Starting pitcher for the Vikings: Nate Donaker (2-0)