Scots earn critical split with SHP

Entering into play one game back of Sacred Heart Prep in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division — after falling Wednesday to the Gators 4-3 — the Scots (5-2 PAL Bay, 10-9 overall) answered back on their home turf with a 9-3 victory over SHP at Hurst Memorial Field. With the win, five-time defending league champion Carlmont moves back into a first-place tie with SHP (5-2, 14-5).

“Like I told our guys, they came out with their back against the wall on their home turf,” Scots manager Rich Vallero said. “So, I feel like when we come out of the gates and play with that little extra intensity and effort, like a championship program should, we’re the only ones that can stop us.”

Carlmont right-hander Mitchell Plane went the distance, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning and ultimately surrendering three runs on five hits to improve his record to 2-2. He surpassed the mandatory maximum 110-pitch limit on his final batter, coaxing a game-ending comebacker on his 111th pitch.

“I was huffing and puffing, I was so tired,” Plane said. “But, I walked two guys, I was like, ‘I’m finishing this. This is my game. I got it this far. I’m not letting this one get away.’”

All of this Plane did while doing his best “Wild Thing” impersonation, donning the hard-rimmed Oakley eyeglasses for the first time this season. They weren’t actually prescription lenses. They were merely for show. But, as Plane summed it up, all’s well that ends well.

“I was trying it out today,” Plane said. “I wanted to look a little goofy. I mean, hey, it worked.”

It sure did. Plane was anything but wild, allowing just two walks while striking out six. After allowing a two-out walk to Yianni Gardner in the first inning, he set down 11 straight, with the 11th in a row courtesy of an outstanding diving catch by center fielder David Bedrosian to open the fifth inning.

By this time, Carlmont had opened a comfortable lead, scoring twice in the first and three more in the second.

The first-inning rally was something of a gift when, with two outs and one on, Scots cleanup hitter Dominic Susa struck out on a ball that SHP catcher John McGrory couldn’t hold on to. With the ball deflecting off McGrory’s glove and out front of the plate, Susa kicked it as he began running to first base — for which he should have been called out — but neither the home plate umpire nor the field umpire saw Susa make contact with the ball.

“He kicked the ball,” SHP manager Anthony Granato said. “… Whether it’s intentional or not, he should be out and there was no call.

“It’s easy to look back, but you never really know what’s going to happen in the game. If we get out of that inning quickly and it’s a 0-0 ballgame, 0-0 ballgames, things change. Everybody gets a little tighter. You get a two-run cushion and it’s easier for your guys to relax and then get a couple more runs, things like that. So, I definitely think it’s an impact. But in no way, shape or form is it [the umpires’ fault], not getting the call right.”

Carlmont tacked on three runs in the second, starting with an RBI single by Plane — 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored — followed by a two-run home run by designated hitter Jordan Brandenburg to up the lead to 5-0.

SHP starting pitcher Angelo Tonas settled in from there, working 5 2/3 innings to take the loss. The senior left-hander departed after yielding two unearned runs in the sixth. He allowed seven runs (three earned) on eight hits while striking out nine.

“I think it was kind of their day,” Tonas said. “Their balls were falling and they were doing a really good job fighting, putting the balls in play. But once I settled in … it was easy to bounce back.”

The Gators committed three errors, all behind Tonas.

“It’s tough on the kid,” Granato said. “When you have a guy out there that’s going to give you an opportunity to win all the time, you’ve got to play well behind him and make plays. And we didn’t. It’s hard when you give a good team a few runs, and then you expect him to be perfect. And that’s unrealistic.”

Plane faced one problem inning in the fifth. After the Bedrosian web gem to open the frame, SHP senior Eric DeBrine broke up the no-hitter with a double down the left-field line. He later scored on a wild pitch. Then three straight singles by Barry Mainz, Kyle Cody and Jack FitzSimons closed the deficit to 5-2.

Vallero, though, was intent on letting Plane — who has played from Granato’s GamePrep Baseball Academy travel team since he was 12 — work through the jam.

“I knew this game meant a lot to Mitch, going against a guy who mentored him growing up,” Vallero said. “So, I wanted to kind of let him go out on his own terms.”

After Plane escaped the jam, Carlmont broke through with four runs in the bottom of the frame. The big hit came off the SHP bullpen when Brandenburg, with the bases loaded, threw a bases-clearing triple down the right-field line. Brandenburg was 2 for 4 with a homer and five RBIs.

Now, instead of first-place SHP taking a two-game lead in the standings with six games to play, the Gators and the Scots are again deadlocked atop the PAL Bay Division with third-place Hillsdale — after downing Sequoia 18-4 Friday — a half game back.

“We’re at the top,” Granato said. “I’m not really worried about it. As long as we learn from our mistakes and we just keep moving forward, that’s all you can hope for with high school guys. They’re kids, they’re going to make mistakes, they’re not going to have their best days every day. Just as long as they can bounce back from it, keep their goal in sight and keep working for it.”