The baseball team beat Chaminade 4-2 in its second game of a series at O’Malley Field on April 11 and defeated the Eagles 11-4 in the first game April 10, giving them a league record of 5-0.
Last year, the Wolverines beat Chaminade 5-2 and 3-2 during the first two games of the series and tied 1-1 for a record of 2-0-1.
The 4-2 victory was closer than the first game of the series, but the game was a better opportunity to showcase the team’s strengths third baseman Loren Franck ’18 said.
“[The] best part about the game was that we were able to battle it out with a tough opponent and come out on top,” Franck said. “Winning dog fights showcases our toughness more than blowouts do.”
The Wolverines scored three of the four runs in the bottom of the second inning after shutting down Chaminade. Pitcher Jack Limongelli ’19 cleaned up with two strikeouts and shortstop Drew Bowser ’20 assisted with an out at first.
Franck scored the first run of the game. Franck hit a double off of a curveball deep to left field, scoring off of a bunt by Sam Biller ’20. Center fielder Pete-Crow Armstrong ’18 got an RBI off a hit to right field as second baseman Michael Snyder ’19 ran in for the second run. Bowser hit a deep into the outfield which was caught after earning the third run.
Chaminade scored its first run at the top of the first after an RBI off a double to centerfield. Limongelli struck out the next hitter and a ground ball to second ended the top half of the first.
The Eagles batted in its second run in the fifth inning with a deep right field hit. Afterward, pitcher Bryant Reese ’19 subbed in and immediately shut Chaminade down with two strikeouts. The Wolverines prevented any scores amid bases loaded by securing a groundout to first.
In the top of the seventh, J.P. Corigan ’19 came into pitch, secured an out at first after a ground ball. A second out was caught on a dive by catcher Dillon Plageman ’18 after a bunt popped up.
“It was a clutch play in a tight game that really gave us all the momentum to finish the game,” Limongelli said.
The Wolverines are currently ranked seventh in California and 21st in the nation, according to Max Preps. The team has improved in ranking from the end of last season, where they ranked 19th in the state and 157th in the nation.
Chaminade is ranked 38th in the state and 136th in the nation.
The Wolverines have found successes earlier this season in tournaments and league games.
They swept their series against Alemany winning 6-2, 9-0, then 5-2. Last season, they defeated Alemany 2-1 in games.
The team also went 1-1 against Ghar, winning their first game 6-3 and losing the second 3-2. This loss was one of three losses this season, all out of league.
The Wolverines went 4-1 in the Easton Tournament and 3-1 in the Boras Classic. Last year, the squad went 5-0 in the Easton Tournament and did not compete in the Boras Classic.
This game was the first this season to be commentated and streamed by HWTV, the school’s live stream broadcast channel. An archived recording of the game can be found here.
The squad will play its final game of the set at Chaminade on April 13 and its next series opener will be against Notre Dame on April 17.
The team is prepared for their next game against Chaminade and plans to include inexperienced players in the lineup.
“We’re all feeling pretty good,” Limongelli said. “We have [Christian Becerra ’21] pitching and we are looking forward to another good game against a talented Chaminade team.”
