Celeste Bates

Paly junior Isaiah Walker attempts to advance on the basepaths. According to Walker, Saturday’s CCS Quarterfinal matchup is something he has been excited about for a long time. “When I was in middle school, I always went to go watch Paly play in these games,” Walker said. “And now being apart of it feels so amazing. It’s like life coming full circle.”

It’s that time of the year. The Palo Alto High School varsity baseball team (15-12) is on the brink of playoff baseball. The Vikings, after an upset loss on Friday against Wilcox (16-11), losing the league title, have clinched a berth in the Central Coast Section Division 2 playoff, and will head up north to play Sacred Heart Cathedral (15-12) at 11 a.m. Saturday, at Marchbank Park. 

Dropping 10 of their first 16 games, a slow start for the Vikings, meant that the team had to get rolling in order to make a section playoff appearance a possibility.

Junior outfielder Isaiah Walker says it was the team’s constant effort throughout the season that helped them turn things around.

“Continuously believing in the work we were putting in was important,” Walker said. “A collective mindset shifted playing for each other [rather than each individual]. It was shocking and definitely hurt starting off slow, but to be honest, it really brought us together, and now makes us battle tested.”

Sacred Heart Cathedral, who has the same regular season record as the Vikings, is not a match up the team can take lightly. As a team from the West Catholic Athletic League, they routinely go up against bay area powerhouses such as Archbishop Mitty and Valley Christian.

“They are a pretty good squad and it will be a dogfight, but I trust that our boys will get the job done,” Walker said.

Scheduled to be on the mound for the Vikings is junior pitcher Henry Harding. Coming off of a no-hitter against Wilcox, Harding says that he is making sure his body is ready for Saturday.

“I’ve focused on keeping my body loose and active to stay fresh, as a longer outing will help save our relief pitchers for the next playoff round,” Harding said.

“I’m also trying to stay level-headed before my outing and I have been coming to practice every day with a growth mindset.”

Harding also mentioned that he has been scouting Cathederal’s personnel, to give him an advantage coming into the game.

 “I’ve been studying scouting reports on the opposing players this week to identify their weaknesses and plan my pitching strategy for Saturday” Harding said.

“Putting in my best effort at practice this week has been very important to make sure I’m prepared come Saturday”