Cheers, high-fives, and laughter erupted as the Los Altos High School baseball team secured a decisive 9–0 victory over the Gunn High School Titans last Friday, April 18.

After dropping a close 7–11 bout to rival Palo Alto High School on April 4, the Eagles were determined to bounce back stronger after spring break. Winning five out of their last six games, they did just that.

“By the time we got back for spring break, our players were focused on being better,” Head Coach Gabriel Stewart said. “These past few games, we’ve been playing to our standard — and I think the results speak for themselves.”

The Eagles set the tempo early on. With two bases loaded, senior Darrion Wesley launched a double that brought in two runs for seniors Kai MacQuiddy and Gavin Moore. Thanks to additional runs by Darrion and senior Emmett Heath, the Eagles commanded a 4–0 lead in the first inning alone.

“Paying attention to the first-pitch fastball gave us a lot of early momentum,” Darrion said. “We watch a lot of film as a team, and I think understanding speeds helped me when I was at bat.”

A complete team effort cemented the Eagles’ dominance. Shutting out Gunn throughout the game, their stellar defensive performance overwhelmed the Titans. Emmett led the charge, not only racking up a career-high ten strikeouts on the mound, but also delivering a victory-sealing home run in the fourth inning to put the Eagles up 8–0.

“When I’m confident either on the mound or on the plate, it always brings out my best performance,” Emmett said. ”Initially, I wasn’t receiving a lot of minutes on the mound, but with more repetition and time, I got a lot better.”

“I was very pleased with Emmett’s control,” Stewart said. “In six innings, there were only three walks, and his strikeout-to-ball ratio was very good. When it came down to it, he made pitches when he had to make pitches. He did a fantastic job.”

The Eagles completed the game with a 9–0 victory, setting a confident tone for their upcoming league matchups.

“Our team plans to take things one game at a time and go from there,” Darrion said. “While we have momentum going into the next week of league games, it’s important that we don’t take any team lightly and not let egos get the best of us.”

“I’ve been playing with most of these guys since I was 12,” Emmett said. “When we play, our chemistry is always strong. We just need to keep establishing a rhythm early to get going.”