Menlo shuts down Sequoia

Unfortunately for the Cherokees, Mauldin was saddled with the loss as Menlo pitcher Andy Suiter held Sequoia scoreless while scattering five hits as the Knights remained undefeated in Peninsula Athletic League Lake Division play with the 3-0 win.

The scary thing is, Suiter did not have his best stuff Tuesday afternoon in Redwood City.

"I felt only one of my pitches was working, my fastball," Suiter said. "I wasn't feeling my other pitches. I just knew I had to focus on every pitch and know which batters to pitch to. I knew my fastball could get me through the game." The junior lefty was more than effective with his fastball as he struck out 12. At one point, he struck out six in a row.

When he struck out the first Sequoia batter of the game, Suiter set a new Menlo season record for strikeouts with his 93rd of the season with six regular-season games remaining.

"The only part I had a problem with was we extended the strike zone. We were swinging at balls over our heads," Simms said. "[Suiter] threw well. We knew he would be around the plate. We needed to be more patient and we weren't."

As well as Suiter pitched, however, Mauldin was more than up to the task, matching Suiter pitch for pitch. Menlo (9-0 Lake Division, 15-5 overall) hit only two balls really hard - Colin Umphrey's double down the third-base line in the fifth and Ryan Cavan's RBI triple in the very next at-bat.

Other than that, the Menlo bats remained relatively quiet. Of the Knights' six hits, two were infield hits and two others were singles. The Knights managed only nine baserunners the entire game.

"I was very impressed by [Mauldin]," said Menlo manager Craig Schoof. "He really located the ball well. He kept us off balance all day."

Menlo managed to manufacture a run in the top of the second. Tommy Whitfield drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch and moved to second on a passed ball. Following a strikeout, Jesse Sweet blooped a single that was just fair down the right-field line, with Whitfield going to third. Arif Virani followed and hit what should have been an inning-ending double play when he grounded to the shortstop. But the relay to first was wide, allowing Whitfield's run to count.

"If we don't make an error (there), the game's a lot closer. Maybe we lose only two-nothing," Simms said. "But it just didn't go our way today."

The Knights finally gave Suiter some breathing room with two runs in the fifth. With one out, Umphreys doubled and was brought home on Cavan's triple - both hits were on back-to-back pitches. Nate Adelman put down a safety squeeze bunt to get Cavan home from third to give the Knights a 3-0 lead.

Despite the win, Schoof wasn't really impressed with the way his team played. He admonished the team early in the game for a lack of hustle and lack of focus.

"I don't think we played real well today. We're in a mode where [Suiter] is that good that he can go out and win games for us," Schoof said. "But you don't want to badmouth a win."

Hillsdale 6, El Camino 2

The Knights won their second Ocean Division game in a row, upsetting the league-leading Colts in San Mateo on Tuesday.

"It was just a complete game," said Hillsdale manager Steve Baccei. "We played defense, got some hits and got great pitching."

Aaron Fiorucchi, making just his second start of the season for Hillsdale (2-5, 6-15), held El Camino to just two runs on five hits.

With Fiorucchi keeping the Colts' bats in check, the Knights bat came to life with a six-run third. The big blow was Brandon Harris' grand slam home run. Yo Miyamoto added a solo shot of his own.

The Knights managed nine hits on the day, with Harris picking up three of them.

"This was a total team effort," Baccei said. "We don't have a stud on our team. We have a bunch of good players.

"This gives the rest of our season a big shot in the arm," he continued. "We know we can beat the best team in the league … It makes the game fun again."