.JPG)
The Palo Alto Vikings held the lead until the third inning when the Los Gatos Wildcats scored five runs. The Vikings were unable to win back the lead, however they did not allow the Wildcats to score any more points for the rest of the game.
– Hannah Kim
The Palo Alto High School softball team (1-5-0, 0-1-0) fell to Los Gatos High School, 2-5, on Thursday at home in its first Santa Clara Valley Athletic League game.
The Vikings held a one-run lead until the third inning, when Los Gatos scored five runs.
Despite the setback, the team showed signs of improvement, according to senior pitcher and team captain Grace Stafford. The Vikings didn’t let the tough third inning get to them and rebounded with a strong defensive showing during the rest of the game.
“We played really well — we were really solid besides that one inning,” Stafford said. “It was really impressive that we kept strong after that one inning; it shows a lot of improvement.”
Head coach Tim Anderson agreed with Stafford.
“We’re coming together,” Anderson said. “Los Gatos was the team to beat in the league.”
Anderson said Los Gatos had a strong pitching staff, good leadership, and veteran players, so the Vikings did very well in giving them a six-inning shut-out.
The Vikings scored their first run early on during the first inning. The second run came in the fifth inning when junior outfielder Emily Swanson hit a single and sophomore Maya Padilla hit a double. With two outs and two strikes, senior catcher Anna Gale hit a single that brought Swanson home.
Anderson praised the defense, especially Swanson, who made a double play in the fourth inning when she caught a fly ball and threw to first; however, he said that the offense needed improvement.
Anderson also gave credit to Stafford, who pitched well throughout the game.
The next league game will be an away game at 4 p.m. on Tuesday against Fremont High School.