With their ace pitcher junior Alex Schmarzo on the mound, the Paly baseball team rolled to a 5-0 victory over the Wilcox Chargers thanks to Schmarzo’s four-hit shutout.

Two years ago, the Vikings managed to make it all the way to the CCS Division I final against the Chargers. Paly disposed of nationally-ranked powerhouses, such as Bellarmine and St. Francis, along the way.

Back in the 2004 game against the Chargers, the Vikings were winning 4-2 when the game went into the bottom of the sixth inning. With senior David Stringer pitching, Charger left fielder Anthony Reyes hit an RBI single, and centerfielder Alan Smith hit a two RBI triple to let the Chargers take the lead for good, 5-4. The Vikings tried their best in the top of the 7th, but to no avail.

The Vikings have also lost earlier this season to the Chargers, 1-9. The game was highlighted with the Vikings’ first home run of the season by senior second baseman Jon Koepfgen. The score was 2-1 in the Chargers’ favor until the fourth inning where six runs by the Chargers put the game out of reach.

Going into Friday’s game, the Vikings prepared themselves for a tough opponent. Wilcox had won ten of the last 11 league titles.

“I was a little nervous before the game, but when I got to the mound, I didn’t think about anything else except my pitching,” said Schmarzo.

To better their chances of winning, the Vikings decided to switch regular catcher junior Nick Goodspeed to shortstop while moving Koepfgen to second base. Sophomore Peter Abrahms replaced Goodspeed at the catcher position.

“Nick’s got great athleticism, and we need more of that in the infield,” said Paly head coach Joel Kaufman.

On a particular groundball up the middle, Goodspeed made a spectacular diving stop and got up and gunned down a Wilcox batter just in time at first base.

To start things off, the Vikings got three straight singles to load the bases in the bottom of the first inning. Junior first baseman Will Elmore belted a bases-clearing double to give the Vikings an early 3-0 lead.

“Elmore’s shot really set the tone for the rest of the game,” said Kaufman.

In addition, the Vikings scored two more runs on throwing errors in the bottom of the fourth inning.

In the top of the 7th, the Chargers threatened when they loaded the bases up with two out as Schmarzo couldn’t seem to close it out.

“I knew my infield had my back,” said Schamrzo. “I knew my stuff would get me through it.”

Schmarzo went on to coax Wilcox junior infielder Wally Galos to hit a pitch right back to the mound, which Schmarzo caught for the final out. Schmarzo finished with five strikeouts and allowed only four hits and two walks over seven innings.

A week and a half ago, Paly senior Andrew White also got a complete shutout against Mountain View ace Joe Hatasaki who received a scholarship to Arizona State, an NCAA Division I school.

The Vikings now look to develop consistency in their performance in games.

“Wilcox is one of the best teams in the league, and if we stick to good fundamentals, there’s no reason we don’t have a chance at beating the others in our league,” said Kaufman. “We usually have one bad inning, which makes the game out of reach for us.”

The Vikings next travel to Cupertino to face the Pioneers at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29.