WATSONVILLE—The St. Francis High softball team remains unbeaten after its first week of play thanks to another power pitching performance by Alicia Mendez.
The senior pitcher racked up 11 strikeouts and did not give up a walk for the Sharks in their 4-1 win against Gonzales in non-league play Friday afternoon.
“I think I pitched good and I had a really good defense behind me, I was really proud of them with that,” Mendez said. “We did really good on hitting and we’ve definitely improved from our first games.”
Senior catcher Mariah Montalvo had a home run in the fifth inning that extended the Sharks’ lead to 4-0.
“This was the fastest pitcher we’ve faced out of our three games,” she said. “It was just focusing on getting my timing down and staying calm.”
Montalvo got things started in the bottom of the first with a triple and scored shortly later.
“We didn’t really know what to expect but we were ready for anything,” Montalvo said. “Just play our top game no matter what.”
Montalvo along with Gigi Claderon and Demaria Bolden each had two hits for St. Francis, which tallied nine hits in the game.
The Sharks (3-0) play at Monte Vista Christian (3-4) on Tuesday at 4pm.
St. Francis 14, Christopher 0: Gianna Calderon hit a home run for the Sharks in their non-league win against the Cougars on Thursday.
Alicia Mendez pitched a complete game shutout with nine strikeouts for St. Francis, which improved to 2-0 with the victory.
Aptos 9, San Lorenzo Valley 8: Sophomore outfielder Mileena Carbajal hit three home runs including a grand slam for the Mariners in their win against the Cougars in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League action Thursday.
Carbajal hit the grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning that gave Aptos an 8-5 lead. But the Cougars responded in the top of sixth with three runs that tied it at 8-all.
Raegan Fulton scored the go-ahead run in the bottom half of the sixth and it was all they needed to squeak by SLV.
Ada Neu batted 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. She was also the winning pitcher, giving up eight hits and three earned runs while striking out 10 batters.
Aptos (5-3, 2-0) will play in the upcoming Monterey Peninsula Softball Invitational at Jack’s Park in Monterey. The first game is against Monterey on Saturday at 8am, followed by a game against Mountain View on the same day at 2pm.
Aptos 11, Santa Cruz 0 (5 innings): Bailey Fulton was perfect at the plate for the Mariners in Tuesday’s SCCAL win against the Cardinals.
She batted 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored. Daija Rodriguez batted 2-for-3 with two singles and one run scored.
Senior starting pitcher Ada Neu recorded two strikeouts and threw for two innings. At the plate, she had a double, an RBI and two runs scored.
Sophomore pitcher Mileena Carbajal tallied four strikeouts and allowed just three hits in three innings of work for Aptos.
Monte Vista Christian 20, Santa Cruz 1 (5 innings): Amaya Chong-Vargas had seven strikeouts and pitched a complete game for the Mustangs in Friday’s non-league win against the Cardinals.
Chong-Vargas had two RBIs, Giselle Rocha had five RBIs, Kayla Silveira had three RBIs, Jazalyn Piña had two RBIs and Sophia Cortes had two RBIs.
The Mustangs (3-4) will host St. Francis (3-0) on Tuesday at 4pm.
North Monterey County 18, Pacific Grove 0: Amelia Visesio records a shutout for the Condors in their win against Pacific Grove in non-league action on Tuesday.
Leslie Ruiz and Deja Visesio each had four hits and four RBIs for NMC.
Leslie Ruiz had a home run. Johana Alonzo, Gaby Holmes, Amelia Visesio, Brooke Ramirez, Jaz Oliva all had multiple hits for the Condors (4-3).
Baseball
Aptos 5, San Lorenzo Valley 2: Chase Aiken picked up a win for the Mariners in Friday’s SCCAL victory over the Cougars.
He recorded nine strikeouts and allowed two runs on four hits in five innings. Sam Chitwood threw for two innings in relief, allowing one hit and recording two strikeouts.
Jack Spinelli batted 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI for Aptos. Chitwood batted 1-for-2 with a pair of sacrifice flies and two RBIs. James Craig batted 2-for-4 with two runs scored for the Mariners, who are now 3-3 overall and 3-0 in league play.
Aptos 2, Santa Cruz 0: The Mariners defeated the Cardinals in SCCAL action on Tuesday. Gabe Gaeckle tossed three innings with eight strikeouts and allowed two walks and no hits.
Reed Moring threw for four innings with nine strikeouts, allowing two hits and no walks. James Craig batted 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI.
Monte Vista Christian 3, St. Francis 2: The Mustangs handed the Sharks their first loss of the season in Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division play Wednesday.
St. Francis 10, Stevenson 6: Noel Aquino hit a home run for the Sharks in their non-league win against the Pirates on Friday afternoon.
St. Francis (4-1, 1-1) plays at North Salinas on Wednesday at 4pm.
St. Francis 11, MVC 1: The Sharks defeated the Mustangs in PCAL Mission Division action Monay.
Watsonville 2, Soledad 0: Dominic Hernandez recorded a one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts for the Wildcatz in their win against the Aztecs in the teams’ PCAL Mission Division opener Monday.
Hernandez also had a double and scored a run. Edgar Ramirez batted 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Richie Ortiz, Miguel Lopez, Isaac Vargas, Adrian Leon and Josh Ybarra II all had hits for the ‘Catz.
Boys tennis
Aptos 6, Santa Cruz 1: The Mariners have won two-straight after Thursday afternoon’s victory against the Cardinals in SCCAL action.
Bennett Biscotti defeated Che Castro in two sets, 6-1, 6-4, in their No. 1 singles match.
Aaron Buchanan beat Julian Arulanantham in two sets (6-0, 6-1), and Heath Hegna defeated Sammy Lambert in two sets (6-0, 6-0) to round off the top-3 singles.
The Mariners won the No. 4 singles match by default (6-0, 6-0).
Jack Eldredge and Sean Spencer paired up for Aptos in their No. 1 doubles match, defeating Jake Smith and Will Sommer in two sets (6-3, 6-1).
Adam Allen and Nick Hambright lost their No. 2 doubles match to Santa Cruz’s Felix Gonzalez and Aidan Cromarty in two sets (6-1, 6-4).
Andrew and Patrick Morrissey won their No. 3 doubles match for the Mariners against Eli Tripp and Kai Sheehan in two sets (6-2, 6-3).
Aptos 7, Harbor 0: The Mariners swept the Pirates in SCCAL action Tuesday afternoon.
Aaron Buchanan, Jack Eldredge, Sean Spencer and Patrick Morrissey all won their singles matches for Aptos.
Baseball officials
Baseball officials needed: Santa Cruz County Baseball Umpires Association is looking to add officials to its roster. No experience is required and training will be provided. Contact William Bunner at 831-345-3439 or wb*******@gm***.com .
Reporting Scores
Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to report scores and highlights at jr****@pa********.com following games. Please include your name and contact information in the email.
