The Palo Alto High School softball team (6-7-0) stepped up after a loss the day before by defeating the Gunn High School Titans (4-10-0) 4-3 on Tuesday at the Paly softball diamond.
In previous years, games against Gunn have been tough matchups, resulting in many close-scoring games. A few weeks ago the Vikings fell to Gunn in the 10th inning 5-4.
Defense and offense were strong in the first two innings as the score was left at 0-0 until the top of the third inning when Gunn scored two runs.
The Vikings were unable to rally in the fourth inning, however, in the bottom of the fifth inning when sophomore Ella Jones was walked to first base senior centerfielder Samantha McBride grounds the ball to shortstop, allowing Jones to take second. Junior Lindsey Kim walks to first base and sophomore Zoe Silver hits a line drive, bringing Kim and Jones home, tying the game 2-2.
Paly coach Brooke Binkley said she was pleased with the team’s overall performance despite their tough loss on Monday to Fremont High School.
“They did really well,” Binkley said. “They had a rough game yesterday so I think they bounced back very well.”
Because Monday and Tuesday’s games were back-to-back, the Vikings had little time to practice and focus on Tuesday’s game.
“We didn’t have much time to prepare because we had to go back-to-back,” Binkley said. “I just told them to relax, they get a little riled up when it’s a Gunn game so I just told them to think about them as any other team and not Gunn.”
Sophomore Zoe Silver, left fielder, batted in two runs with her last hit, being a low line drive to centerfield, bringing the score up from 2-3 to 4-3.
“I think having my team be so enthusiastic really made me want to succeed for them,” Silver said. “One of our goals for this game was to really keep our energy and by the end we were really loud and really got into the pitcher’s head, and I think that’s what made us pull through as the winners.”
Senior captain Sophie Frick had a strong game in the outfield preventing Gunn from score more, despite her mediocre batting performance, she said.
“I don’t think I had one of my best games, especially in hitting, which is kind of frustrating but definitely something I can work on and bring back up because I was doing better at the beginning of the season,” Frick said.
Despite her personal disappointment, Frick was happy about the team’s spirit and performance.
“I think we did really well,” Frick said. “Gunn is always a tough game and they’re tough competition—and then there’s also the rivalry—but we came back and won in the last inning which is exciting.”
Binkley is hoping they will keep up their positive attitude and energy for the rest of the season.
“I want to see them just stay tough especially when they get down,” Binkley said. “They start to get mentally down on themselves so we want to see the energy we saw in today’s game.”
The Vikings will face Fremont High School (8-10-0) today at Fremont.