The Wilcox Chargers varsity baseball squad delivered a beautiful performance on Monday afternoon against Evergreen Valley. Strong pitching, defense and offense were all on display as the Chargers executed fundamental baseball to the tune of a 5-1 victory.
Julio Vallecillo started on the mound for Wilcox and threw the ball well as he shutout the Cougars through the game’s first three innings. During that time, the Chargers took a 2-0 lead on a two-out, two-RBI single in the bottom of the first by Jake Prettol. The lefty took the first pitch he saw and served it to the opposite field for a soft line drive and a pair of RBIs.
“I was thinking about being more aggressive in that spot,” confirmed Prettol on his game-winning RBI single. “When I see a pitch in my zone, swing at it and don’t really think about where I hit it, just get the job done, score the two runs and get that momentum.”
Wilcox would only face one significant threat from the Cougars the entire game and that came in the top of the fourth. Wilcox Manager Matt Huth brought in his starting shortstop RJ Argel to pitch with the bases loaded and only one out.
The junior delivered almost as perfect of a job as one could ask for in that situation. Evergreen would manage a sacrifice fly to get on the board at 2-1, but Argel would retire both hitters he faced to close out the inning with the lead still intact.
“One thing I wanted to do was throw strikes and trust my defense,” chimed Argel. “We got out of the inning with only one run and no harm done.”
Just watching this one game alone and any neutral observer could see why the Wilcox pitchers have full trust in their defense. Argel himself made multiple tough plays at shortstop look routine, while center fielder Matthew Tiendas made an impressive high backhanded catch on the run into right-center field to end the top of the third.
“Usually, the ball carries here to right field, so I knew I had to bust my butt hard for that one,” joked Tiendas. “I was able to track down and we got out of that inning.”
Tiendas also shined at the plate, as the Chargers’ leadoff man went 2-for-3 at the dish with an RBI single and was later hit by a pitch. On base three out of four times, Tiendas was right up there with Argel for the No. 1 star of the game.
But while teams need stars, they also need role players to execute when called upon and Wilcox got just that from No. 9 hitter Dylan Jackson.
The sophomore perfectly executed the “butcher boy,” as San Francisco Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow calls it, or the “slash,” as others refer to it. Jackson showed bunt with runners at first and second, but then, as the pitch came, Jackson pulled the bat back and swung away, hitting a hard high chopper right where the second baseman would normally have been. The Cougars, though, had their second baseman breaking towards first to cover the base while the first baseman played the bunt.
The Chargers will look to continue to catch opponents off guard with the team’s well-executed, fundamental baseball when Wilcox takes on San Lorenzo Valley today and Saratoga on Saturday.
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