Junior Ben Sneider delivers a pitch to the plate.  The Vikings would go on to lose the game to Wilcox by a score of 2-1.

– Grant Raffel

The Palo Alto High School baseball team (11-5, 7-2) dropped a disappointing, 2-1, decision to the Wilcox High School Chargers (13-4, 5-2) on Wednesday.

Despite having many scoring chances, the Vikings only converted on one. Paly advanced runners into scoring position many times in the later stages of the game but was limited to one run by Wilcox’s stellar pitching.

“We got runners to second in a lot of our innings, we just couldn’t cash in,” junior pitcher Ben Sneider said, who had a solid outing of his own.

Sneider pitched a complete game, allowing only two unearned runs and five hits while striking out four. “I did my job,” he said. “It really just comes down to a couple of plays in the second inning.” 

The Vikings made two errors in the second inning, which enabled Wilcox to score their two runs.

Assistant coach Dave Goldman was not pleased with the errors and mistakes his team made, which helped Wilcox win.

“They played harder than we did,” Goldman said. “They dove for balls, we did not. They played smarter baseball, so we only have ourselves to blame.”

Paly’s lone run came in the bottom of the fourth inning when junior infielder Jack Witte hit a ground ball single up the right side. The Wilcox second baseman bobbled the ball, allowing senior catcher Will Glazier just enough time to come all the way from second base and slide around the tag at home.

The Vikings had many more scoring chances, including in the last inning of play. Leading off the bottom of the seventh, senior outfielder Cory Tenanes hit a double, but was later thrown out in a rundown between second and third base, ending Paly’s hopes.

The game was not full of disappointment, however, as the Vikings got a strong performance from Sneider and overall played a solid game.

“Our pitching was fabulous,” Goldman said. “Other than the [second] inning, we played pretty good baseball.”

The Vikings are looking forward to their Friday afternoon rematch at Wilcox. Goldman thinks they can pull out a victory if they simply play harder.

“We just have to hustle and do the little things that we didn’t do today,” he said.

Paly will travel to Santa Clara to play Wilcox at 3:30 pm on Friday, April 8.   

Update: The Vikings lost 5-2 at Wilcox on Friday.