BASEBALL: Los Altos Defeats Los Gatos in De Anza Opener

Los Altos 7, Los Gatos 4

The Stars: Los Altos starting pitcher Mat Snider went the distance to earn his third win in as many starts this season. Snider struck out six, including a pair of Los Gatos hitters to start out the bottom of the seventh in the 7-4 Los Altos win over Los Gatos Wednesday afternoon at Los Gatos High. The game was the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division opener for both schools.

Mac Climan, Snider, Joseph Chedid and Mitch Kehlet all recorded RBIs for the Eagles in the win. Kehlet, the No. 2 hitter in the order, recorded key hits in the second and fourth to help his team earn its fifth win of the season.

The Turning Point: The Los Altos (5-3, 1-0 De Anza) lineup worked the count and continued to put the ball in play throughout the De Anza division matchup. After a loss against Milpitas High on Monday-- several Eagles hit the ball deep but couldn’t drive the ball out of the yard-- the ball was hit on the ground on this day, forcing the ‘Cats infielders to deal with the unpredictable infield bounces at Los Gatos High.

A four-hit, three run inning in the third put Los Altos ahead 4-1. Los Gatos (4-2-1, 0-1 De Anza) rallied with two scores in the bottom half of the third before Los Altos added one more score off an RBI single from Kehlet. Kehlet, who singled up the middle and later scored in the second inning, ripped a hard shot off the third baseman’s glove that allowed Justin Visas to score and put Los Altos ahead 5-3 midway through four innings of action.

Los Gatos errors allowed Los Altos to score three unearned runs, which ended up being the difference in the game. Snider and catcher Nolan O’Such each scored unearned runs off an Los Gatos throwing error in the seventh.

The Quotes:  “We’ve had a lot of bad luck here at Los Gatos,” Los Altos head coach Sandy Withol said after the win. “The biggest part of the game was that we put the ball in play and hit the ball on the ground. We forced their fielders to make plays.”

 Starting pitcher Mat Snider came to the club a little later that the rest of the bunch because of soccer season, but the starter grinded his way to a third win of the season Wednesday afternoon.

 “I didn’t have my best stuff today,” Snider said. “My fastball was all over the place and I walked too many guys. It’s huge to get this win, especially the way our offense picked me up.”

 What's Next? The two schools will meet up again on Friday afternoon at Los Altos High. Mitch Kehlet is scheduled to start on the bump for Los Altos.

Bottom Line: Snider used a nasty breaking ball to keep ‘Cats hitters off balance and continued to work his way out of trouble throughout the ball game. The veteran group banged out 12 hits en route to a nice win opening up league play. The Eagles will look to continue the momentum Friday afternoon at home against the same opponent.

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Los Altos 7, Los Gatos 4

LA 0 1 3 1 0 0 2- 7 12 1

LG 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 – 4 4 3

WP: Snider (3-0). LP: Larson

Records: Los Altos 5-3, 1-0 De Anza. Los Gatos 4-2-1, 0-1 De Anza.