The Cal High baseball team is off to a hot start as the Grizzlies pursue a spot for the NCS playoffs.
Recently, Cal (9-5 overall, 4-2 EBAL) has been on a roll, winning three of its last four games.
The Grizzlies were no hit by Freedom in an 8-0 loss on April 11.
Cal topped Granada on April 10 with a 7-6 victory.
The Granada win came on the heels of a 6-1 victory against Livermore, which is always one of the toughest games.
Cal lost to San Ramon Valley, 13-4, on April 3.
The Grizzlies played league rival Monte Vista away on April 1. It was a tough game and Cal fell just short, losing 4-1.
Junior Rudy Leon had a good game going 2-for-4 with an RBI, but Mustang pitching was too strong, shutting down the Grizzlies offense and striking out 10 batters.
“The pitcher was really good,” said coach Brian Coburn. “We got seven hits, but we weren’t able to piece them together.”
The Monte Vista loss was following two league wins, including a 5-4 win over Foothill on March 27.
Senior Will Miller scored the game winning run in the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly by Rudy.
Cal opened up their EBAL schedule with a 4-2 win over Amador Valley on March 25.
Senior Jason Kochan pitched six innings and struck out nine batters to get the win. Junior pitcher Ryan Stein got his first save of the season to secure the Grizzlies victory.
“Jason was a savage on the mound,” said senior Kyle Gallegos, who hit a double in the game.
Rudy went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored in the game. Rohan Venkatesh also had a solid game, going 2-for-4 at the plate.
Cal hosted its first home game of the season on March 21 against San Leandro. The Grizzlies raced away with an easy victory, winning the game 19-0.
Sophomore Evan Brisentine hit two home runs and pitched four scoreless innings. Junior Dylan Heath went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI.
“It was an awesome game,” said Evan. “And we dominated.”
The Grizzlies, won four of six non-league games to start the season.
They beat Valley Christian, Berkeley, Newark Memorial and San Leandro. Cal outscored opponents by 50 runs in these games.
“Those games were good warm-up ones,” said Will. “They got us ready for the EBAL schedule.”
Everybody on the team is contributing to the success so far this season, especially Kyle.
The sophomores on the team, Evan and Steven Moen, are also playing very well this season, despite being exposed to varsity competition for the first time.
“Kyle is having an awesome year at the plate,” said Coburn. “And the sophomores are stepping it up.”
Jason has been the team’s ace so far and is having a solid season.
Junior pitcher Ryan Steinalso has been a great compliment to Jason’s pitching so far this season.