Dirt don’t hurt

And in the grand scheme of things, all of that should be more important than a dirty uniform. But during the Menlo-Atherton-Notre Dame-Belmont softball game in Belmont Friday afternoon, I couldn’t help by notice nearly every player, on both sides, had some kind stain on their uniform — dirt or grass.

The field at Notre Dame-Belmont still has an all-dirt infield and natural grass outfield. And with the Tigers in their home whites, the dirt covering was noticeable.

And then there was M-A second baseman Juliana Pandolfo and third baseman Lavi Taufahema, who were almost, head to toe, covered in dirt. The entire front of Pandolfo’s uniform was covered in the dirt following the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning. NDB leadoff hitter Hailey Truong jumped on the first pitch she saw from Gracy Nava and hit a laser beam that looked destined for right field.

But Pandolfo made a full-out, head-first dive to her left, snatching the seed off the first bounce, but the ball got away from her on the transfer and Truong was safe with an infield hit.

Fantastic play from Pandolfo, whether on real dirt or an artificial surface. But the tell-tale sign of a dirty uniform, from her collarbone down to her ankles, showed that she was up for the fight.

There is a certain satisfaction when it comes to playing physical sports. Something about a dirty uniform that shows you were involved and cared.

You don’t get the same visual report playing on artificial turf.

***

M-A softball head coach Marcus Blunt told me after the Bears beat Notre Dame-Belmont 14-6 that senior catcher Kylie Cox had been accepted, academically, to attend Stanford University.

Cox must be pretty adept at physics. She must know that a batter can derive a lot of power against a power pitch.

Additionally, Cox knows how to attack hitters as she is the one calling the game and I don’t think I saw Nava shake off Cox once during her five-inning stint.

But Cox certainly has some .... let’s call it, gumption. NDB slugger Skylar Loo led off the bottom of the third inning looking to get something started. The Tigers had just endured a five-run, top of the third that saw a 3-0 lead turn into a 5-3 deficit. Loo had already singled and scored in the first inning, has 10 doubles and four triples on the season and has hit 10 career home runs.

The M-A coaching staff said they wanted nothing to do with Loo, asking Cox to be careful.

Cox, instead, went after Loo in an unorthodox manner. First pitch? A slow ball for a first-pitch strike, looking.

OK, the M-A staff said. Let’s not do that again.

Second pitch? Another slow pitch that Loo pulled foul. She was on that one and the M-A coaches are starting to get a little restless.

Pitch No. 3 is another slow pitch, almost like an old-fashioned eephus pitch in the baseball world, that Loo rolled over to Carey Maletis at shortstop for a routine groundout.

“Kylie Cox is the de facto leader of the this team,” Blunt said.

***

There is nothing a team wants more than the ability to control its own destiny.

The Aragon boys’ tennis team has that opportunity. The Dons will host second-place Carlmont Tuesday for a chance at clinching a third straight Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division title in the final match of the regular season.

The Dons, which hold a one-game lead over both the Scots and Burlingame and beat Carlmont 5-2 back on March 17, can clinch an outright championship and bypass the PAL Central Coast Section play-in tournament.

Or...

Carlmont beats Aragon, Burlingame tops Woodside and the Dons, Scots and Panthers all end up in a tie for first place, at which time tiebreakers will be used to decided which goes automatically into the CCS tournament and which two will have to participate in the play-in tournament.

All of this is predicated, however, on the matches being played. My phone says 100% chance of rain in San Mateo Tuesday and a roughly 40% chance it’s raining at match time of 4 p.m.

Rain could throw a wrench into the rest of the schedule, as the PAL CCS play-in tournament is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. The PAL individual singles and doubles tournaments are scheduled for April 28-30, with the CCS team tournament slated for a May 7 start.

Nathan Mollat has been covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal since 2001. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.