Bearcats on a roll

After a rough start to the season, the San Mateo baseball team has turned it around. The Bearcats improved to 4-0 in Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division play after completing a season sweep of Westmoor 9-1 Thursday afternoon in San Mateo. "Man for man, we're the better team (than Westmoor). I think (our) kids know it," said San Mateo manager Jesse Velez. "[We] just played the game with no pressure." San Mateo (4-0 PAL Ocean, 6-8 overall) got the minimum out of the maximum offensively, scoring nine runs on nine hits, scoring in five of the six innings the Bearcats batted. They also got a strong pitching performance from senior righty Mitch Labbie, who pitched six innings, allowed only one run while scattering six hits, striking out 10 in the process. Matt Erlick pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. Labbie's effort wasn't a dominant one, however, as he threw a lot of pitches -- 101 to be precise. "I think I threw OK," Labbie said. "I couldn't find the strike zone until later (in the game)." Pitching with a lead, however, allowed Labbie a little leeway. It didn't take the Bearcats offense long to give Labbie some runs with which to work, scoring twice in the bottom of the first inning on a two-run single by Pierce Precht. San Mateo increased its lead to 3-0 with an unearned run in the second. Danny Vargas' single plated Manohar Jois, who reached on an error, went to second on a sacrifice bunt and took third on a wild pitch. The Bearcats all but put the game away with a three-run third inning. Marcus Pollard's bloop single to left drove in Labbie, who had walked to lead off the inning. Pollard came home on a Jois double to the right-center field gap. Jois came around to score on an Erlick single and an error. San Mateo tacked on two more runs in the fifth on an RBI walk by Vargas and a groundout from pinch hitter Rafael Cardenas. The Bearcats rounded out the scoring in the sixth when Labbie scored on Westmoor's fourth error of the game. The Rams avoided the shutout by scratching out a run in the top of the sixth. Randall Castain reached first on an infield hit, went to second when Mark Oreallana walked and scored on a Roger Chamberlain single to left. The loss dropped Westmoor to 0-4 in Ocean Division play, but things aren't all bad for the Rams. Pitcher Juan Miguel Perez gave a gutsy performance on the mound and the defense was decent. The Rams' biggest problem, however, is at the plate as they managed only six hits. "We have kids who certainly aren't very experienced," said Westmoor's third-year manager Kevin Brady. "They need to see pitching and get at bats." Brady, however, has nothing but respect and admiration for his team. The Rams have had some success this season (they're 6-8 overall) and Brady is pleased to see his team is willing to learn and play the game right way. "As a team, they're a little family," Brady said, adding they don't get down when they're behind and don't get too giddy when they're winning. "When they're down 9-0, they don't know any better, and when they're beating a team, they don't know they shouldn't be," Brady continued. There was one bright spot offensively for the Rams. Leadoff hitter Joseph Galang went 3 for 4 with three infield hits, and is one of the fastest players on the Peninsula from home to first. In the first inning, he hit a slow, high chopper to shortstop. By the time the throw got to first, Galang had already run through the bag. A slow grounder to second in the third inning figured to be a closer play, and it was, but Galang beat that out as well. In the fifth, he hit another slow roller to shortstop but didn't even draw a throw to first. "He gets there quicker than any guy I've ever seen," Brady said, adding he coached for many years in the baseball hotbed of San Diego. For San Mateo, the hot start to the league season has given the Bearcats some much needed confidence. They will be tested in tournament games next week against Bay Division squads Terra Nova and Aragon before getting into the meat of the Ocean Division schedule once Spring Break is over. "Our season is really going to start after (next week)," Velez said.