Kelsey Shain tossed a two-hit shutout to beat Homestead. Photo by lghssports.com
What started out as a season of very high expectations has been slowed by a series of injuries and illness that now have Los Gatos on the verge of missing the CCS playoffs.
Despite Kelsey Shain’s two-hit shutout win over Homestead Friday, Los Gatos sits at 2-3 in De Anza League play and 7-6 overall. The Cats will need a big second half to meet their preseason expectations.
Coach Al Pezino began the year with a team of 13 juniors and seniors, a group that finished 8-4 in league play a year ago and earned a berth in the CCS playoffs. But at times this spring, Pezino has had to call up players from the junior varsity — and even the freshman team — just to have enough players in uniform.
One key injury came to senior slugger Casey Showalter, who missed some key league games with a hyper-extended knee and dislocated finger. Showalter has returned to the team, and Pezino is thankful to have her .483 batting average back in the lineup.
Showalter singled and scored in Friday’s win over Homestead, as did fellow senior Kendra Mann. Los Gatos had six hits in the game, all singles. Senior Terra McAufiffe singled, junior Leslie Zankich singled home a run, and junior Sarah Van Belleghem and sophomore Hannah Yeager singled as well.
But the star of the game was Shain, who needed only 60 pitches to put away the Mustangs on just two hits. She struck out three and walked none to improve her record at 3-3 for the season.
While Los Gatos has lost three league games, it has been in every one of them despite being short-handed. The Cats dropped a 3-0 decision Wilcox, lost 3-2 in eight innings to co-league leader Fremont, and lost 5-4 to co-league leader Mt. View. Fremont and Mt. View are both 4-1 in league, Wilcox is 3-2 and Palo Alto 2-1. The top three teams earn automatic bids to the CCS tournament in May.
Against Mt. View, Los Gatos found itself trailing 5-0 after six innings, but instead of folding up tent, the Cats battled to the end and almost pulled out the victory.
Sammi Ridgway smashed a bases-loaded triple in the seventh, and Showalter followed with another triple to make it 5-4. The Cats had the tying run 60 feet away.
Ridgway and Van Belleghem each had two hits in the game and Keri Corey had a hit as well. Mann walked and scored a run.
Los Gatos is off this week because of Spring Break but will return to action next week with a pair of games. Los Gatos will visit Wilcox on Wednesday, April 21 at 4 p.m. and then host Palo Alto on Thursday in a make-up of a previously rained-out game.
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