Mistakes got the better of the Los Altos High School varsity baseball team in their 9–8 loss against the Gunn High School Titans last Wednesday.

While the defeat extends the team’s losing streak to three games, the 13–11 Eagles still hold the second place spot in league standings. That advantage provides just a narrow margin over Palo Alto High school — who also stand 13–11 — thanks to the team’s series sweep of the Vikings in April.

Offensively, the Eagles set the tone early in the first inning. Senior Adam Kamin and sophomore Aaron Baum singled to start the game off, and junior Jack Burcell’s RBI single gave the team a 2–0 advantage. Senior Jackson O’Reilly got his first RBI for the day to bring the lead to three runs.

In the top of the third, the Titans answered with a run and then took the lead in the fourth with a 3-run home run.

The Eagles didn’t let that last long. Sophomores Darrion Wesley and Gavin Moore got on base with back to back singles, with Adam’s second hit of the day bringing in Darrion to tie the game. The Eagles hit in two more runs — one of which coming from Adam’s diving sprint towards home — to extend the lead 6–4.

Through the fifth and sixth, scoring stalemated, giving the team the lead going into the top of the seventh and a chance to get a much needed win. Defensively, the Eagles couldn’t close out the game.

The team’s mishaps started with a rough inning at the mound for Darrion, who replaced starting pitcher junior Eric Colgrove to close out the game. With multiple baserunners, the Titans got the two runs needed to even the score.

“I could’ve kept my composure more. I gave up a lot of hits, and that’s just how the game goes,” Darrion said.

The tie sent what looked like an Eagles win into a nine-inning marathon. Unable to get anything on the scoreboard, the team missed another opportunity in the bottom of the eighth after Adam capped off a huge day with a triple. The Titans then took a ninth-inning lead to go up 9–6.

“We just made some bad mental mistakes [and] bad base running,” said senior Aidan Stiff, who pitched the team out of the eighth after replacing Darrion.

Following a quiet four innings, it looked like the Eagles’ offense would put them back in the lead. Two consecutive walks, followed by a pair of singles, cut the deficit to a just run. Despite the momentum turning in the Eagles’ favor, the team ran out of hits with a runner on third, ending the game on a strikeout.

“We left a lot of guys on base — it just didn’t come together,” senior Stuart Cash said. “This is our game we lost.”

Even with the tough defeat, the Eagles are still in position for a spot in the playoffs. The team acknowledged they have the potential to make a deep run but need to prevent self-inflicted wounds.

“We have all the tools and skills here, but we need to make sure they all happen in-game. We’re
definitely showing it in practice,” Aidan said.

“I’m just going to reset, throw another bullpen [session], and try to get my touch back,” Darrion said. “We’re going to come back hard.”