Powered by outstanding pitching and defense, the Dublin High Varsity Baseball team pulled off two victories last week to open up East Bay Athletic League (EBAL) play.
The Gaels had a 1-0 victory over San Ramon Valley in their home opener on March 16th, and followed it up with another narrow 2-1 win at Monte Vista the following day. Dublin is now 5-1 overall (2-0 in EBAL).
Thursday’s opening win against the Wolves was particularly dramatic. With two outs in the bottom of the 7th inning, Carston Pearson raced home from 3rd on a ball that got away from the catcher and slid home for the winning run just ahead of the tag to help the Gaels record the walk-off victory. Pearson finished the game 3-for-4 and was instrumental on the base paths after a hit in the 7th inning when he stole 2nd base, and then advanced to 3rd on an error to put himself in scoring position for the game’s winning run.
Desi Lopez had a dominating performance on the mound against San Ramon Valley, pitching a complete game shutout and allowing a mere two hits. Cole Gaynor also threw a complete game against Monte Vista, allowing just four hits and helping to keep the Mustangs in check after they scored in the 3rd inning to take an early lead before the Gaels came back with the tying run in the 4th and what proved to be the winning run in the 6th.
Another team with a dramatic victory this week was Boys Tennis, as they defeated San Ramon Valley 5-4 at home on March 16th. After dropping the first set, #3 Doubles pairs Jonathan Joh/Ojashwi Bhushan rallied to win the second set and then prevailed in the third set tiebreaker 10-6 for the team’s 5th and decisive win.
Special recognition also goes to the Track and Field program for hosting 3,346 athletes in 172 heats from 170 schools over the course of 20 hours this weekend in the Dublin Distance Fiesta. The Distance Fiesta has grown into the nation’s largest high school running event, and was highlighted recently in this special feature from MileSplit. Full coverage and results can also be found at www.ca.milesplit.com