The Wilcox Chargers could have easily laid an egg on a Thursday afternoon. All the excuses were built into the schedule. It was a non-league game against the Oak Grove Eagles, Wilcox was starting a young pitcher just called up from JV, and a matchup with first-place Los Altos loomed just around the corner. That’s just not how Wilcox rolls, though.
This competitive bunch of Chargers put on an offensive display of firepower in support of freshman southpaw Eliah Laureles. The left-hander battled well through four innings of work on the mound.
After giving up two runs in the second, Laureles shut down the Eagles’ offense with relative ease the next two innings. Offensively, the Chargers scored nine runs of support, including a pair of home runs, one by Jake Prettol and the other from Matthew Tiendas. The Chargers beat the Eagles 9-4.
“[Eliah] has been throwing really well all year down at JV, and so we called him for this game so I could get a good look at him, and he did really well,” chimed Wilcox manager Matt Huth. “Had a lot of pressure in certain situations and worked his way out of it.”
“When we go out and support our JV team, we usually see him eating up innings,” added Tiendas on his new teammate. “We know his command is pretty refined. He may not have had his absolute best stuff today, but he went out there and competed really well for us.”
Tiendas wasn’t about to let his new teammate get pinned with a loss as a starting pitcher. The Chargers’ leadoff hitter drove in a pair of runs with a double in the bottom of the third to tie the game. A left-handed batter, Tiendas drove a line drive to deep leftfield for a beautiful opposite field knock. It nearly mirrored the leadoff double in that same inning from Prettol.
The two left-handed batters would also hit nearly identical home runs in the fourth. Prettol would go deep to right center for a one-out solo shot. Tiendas meanwhile knocked a two-out, two-run homer to almost the exact same spot in right centerfield.
Prettol’s homer came from his current seventh spot in the lineup. It’s his second homer from that slot in the lineup, showing the depth that Wilcox has offensively.
Tiendas, meanwhile, is the team’s spark plug at the leadoff spot, where he continues to mash the ball, setting the table and driving in runs.
“He’s the catalyst of our team; as he goes, we go,” beamed coach Huth on his center fielder. “I think he’s batting over .500 this year. His bat is just absolutely lethal.”
With the first varsity win for Laureles, the Chargers bumped the team’s overall record to 12-7, but the important record is the league mark which currently sits at 6-2. Wilcox is tied with Los Gatos for second place, both just a half game behind 6-1 Los Altos.
The Chargers will play back-to-back games against Los Altos on April 24 and 26. The team will need at least a split, if not a sweep, if it wants to win the De Anza division.
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