Die-hard Dons score thrilling win over TKA

Thursday’s 5-4 walk-off win over the King’s Academy — courtesy of an RBI double by Samir Hussain in the bottom of the 10th — was a spotlight performance for several reasons. Not only does it come smack dab in the middle of a dogfight atop the Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division standings to try to qualify for the Central Coast Section playoffs. It also marks the first league loss this season for first-place TKA.

“This was a great team win,” Aragon manager Lenny Souza said. “There’s not much better for your team morale, or your chemistry, anything, than something like this.”

The seventh-inning comeback rally was a stunner, even for Souza. Trailing 4-1, the Dons (6-4 PAL Ocean, 12-8 overall)  were down to their final out with no runners on. Aragon’s 10th-year skipper even admitted he was already half thinking about next Tuesday’s two-game series opener with Woodside.

Then the Dons strung together five straight singles from Chris Swartz, pinch-hitter Tristan Dewing, Anthony Calvo, Jace Jeremiah and Elliot Biagini.

“We tell our guys, ‘Never give up, you’ve always got to fight,’” Hussain said. “… That’s how we play.”

Jeremiah’s single with the bases loaded drove home one to make it 4-2. Then Biagini slashed a double down the left-field line that nearly won it right there, scoring two runs on the play before Jeremiah — representing the winning run — got gunned down at the plate on a bang-bang play with a laser relay throw from shortstop Mario Cassara to catcher Kaleb Chung, who recorded the out with a clutch swipe tag.

It was a frustrating out, including an epic helmet spike. But it only helped set the stage for an outpouring of Dons emotion with their 10th-inning walk-off. But it took relief pitcher Anthony Calvo navigating a perilous top of the 10th to get Aragon into the dugout with the game still tied 4-4.

In the top of the 10th, TKA (7-1, 13-5-1) set the table nicely with back-to-back singles to open the frame. In his third inning of work, Calvo then began his second turn through the order. And he was intent on one strategy — induce a double-play grounder.

“I was just focusing on getting the batters and hoping to get a groundball, maybe a double play,” Calvo said. “And we got it.”

They sure did. After an infield pop-up for the first out of the inning, TKA cleanup hitter Chris Boccignone stepped up sitting on a two-hit day, including a three-run home run in the third inning. Boccignone wheeled and fired on a Calvo fastball, hitting a sharp two-hopper down the third-base line. But Aragon third baseman Drake Kenneally made a nice backhanded grab, motored to the bag for the force, then fired across the diamond for an inning-ending double play.

“Drake, he made a great play,” Calvo said. “Stepped on the bag and right when he threw it I knew it was there. So, I was hyped.”

Then the Dons rode the momentum to victory. Biagini opened the bottom of the inning with a shot back up the middle for a single. Then the senior turned in a pivotal play with a steal of second, getting the safe call on a bang-bang play at second that TKA manager Greg Mugg argued to no avail.

“We thought the tag got in a little bit before the hand did,” Mugg said. “I communicated that to … the umpire. He disagreed with me. And again without instant replay, we can’t confirm that.”

Hussain then delivered the game-winner. Facing TKA right-hander Matt Wilson — who was working his fifth inning of relief — Aragon’s No. 3 hitter ran the count full before putting a charge into a fastball to send it sailing up the right-center field gap.

“A 3-2 count, I knew he was going to throw me a strike,” Hussain said. “So, he threw me a fastball middle away and I just took it the other way.”

TKA utilized just two pitchers on the day. Starting pitcher Steven Grizzle went five strong innings, allowing just one run on two hits.

The Knights have seen their roster stretched thin this season. The small Sunnyvale campus yielded just 13 players on its varsity baseball roster this season. Thursday, TKA saw just 11 players suit up. And they finished with just 10 after a scary injury to Matt Johnson in the second inning.

Facing Aragon starting pitcher Conor Hourigan, Johnson got hit directly in the face with an inside curveball. Johnson stayed on his feet, but noticeably dizzy and spitting blood, and had to be helped from the field.

Mugg said Johnson had a cut on the inside of his mouth but didn’t lose any teeth. He departed the field under his own power with the game in progress to get checked for a concussion.

“I think he’s going to be fine though,” Mugg said. “… He did walk out under his own power. He was stable, talking, conversing fine.”

Despite the loss, TKA remains alone in first place, two games ahead of Menlo-Atherton and Woodside, each tied for second. It’s easy to see why with the way the Knights swing the bats. Of their 11 hits against Aragon, the only one that wasn’t a product of solid line-drive contact was a bunt single in the 10th by Chung.

“We have some good players; it starts there,” Mugg said. “We play a style of game that seems to work for us. We pitch it pretty well, we play catch pretty well for the most part and offensively we’re fairly dynamic. So, I think the combination has kind of put us in this situation.”

Earlier in the week, it was TKA that walked off against Aragon for a 6-5 win in the eighth inning. The Dons rallied back from two runs down in the seventh to force extra innings, but the Knights won it in the next frame.

The die-hard Dons are currently tied for fourth place with Half Moon Bay. The top two finishers in the Ocean Division receive automatic bids to the CCS playoffs. The third-place team then plays the champion from the PAL Lake Division for a final guaranteed playoff berth.

“We have four losses, M-A and Woodside both have three,” Souza said. “And we play them both. So … we hold our own fate. That’s pretty cool. We don’t have to worry about what other people are going to do.”