Hui provides Padres with a needed spark

ATHERTON – Serra lacked the energy – the driving force t0 last season's run to a Central Coast Section championship – on Wednesday, but senior shortstop Nate Hui came into opening day with enough mojo to fuel a 4-1 victory over Sacred Heart Prep.

The Padres will face Menlo-Atherton on Thursday in the second round of the Battle for Atherton, which was delayed a day by the weather and will conclude on Saturday. Sacred Heart Prep will host James Logan.

Hui collected three hits, stole four bases and scored two runs. He also made a couple of nice defensive plays, included a decoy move on a first-and-third steal in the sixth inning that kept the Gators from getting back into the contest.

And all the while, Hui exuberance never waned.

"That's always how I've played," he said. "I've always been loud on the field. I play with a lot of energy. Today was not really anything new."

The newness is all around him and Hui finds himself as the leader on a team in need of leadership. He delivered a one-out double in the first inning, stole third and scored when the throw to third went into left field.

"That's our brand of baseball," he said. "We want to score first and add a run each inning to separate ourselves."

On Wednesday, it was needed against Rallin Covey, who struck out 10 in five-inning outing that served as his notice that he's rebounded from a subpar 2025 season with a dominant performance against Serra.

Covey's fastball was clocked at 91 mph on Wednesday, but it was his off-speed stuff that baffled the Padres, who struck out 12 times in the game, including seven times looking.

"That was the plan going in," Covey said. "I know they're a great fastball-hitting team, so I definitely wanted to establish the heater, but then go with a lot of off-speed stuff to keep them off balance."

Serra added a run in second when Jack Wessell doubled and moved to third on Brody Crudeli's single to left. Donovan Friedland then chopped one up the third-base line that Covey fielded and threw errantly to first, allowing Wessell to score.

The Padres made it 3-0 in the third when Hui singled, stole second and third bases and scored on a wild pitch.

Three Things We Liked

• Riley Lim wasn't his best on Wednesday, but he threw 66 pitches in five innings and left without allowing a run. Last year, he made his varsity debut by combining with two others on a no-hitter against the Gators. He gave up a hit this time, but he made the pitches he needed to throw five shutout innings.
• The Gators field a much more athletic team than they did last season. First baseman Kyle Reed and third baseman JP Durrett give them two more bats to go along with catcher Nico Pollioni and Kyle Sweeney.
• Newcomers Friedland at second base and Crudeli at third each had a hit in their varsity debut, while catcher Cooper Hipps stepped in behind the plate and freshman southpaw Michael Ohman threw a perfect seventh inning for the Padres.

W: Lim | L: Covey | 3 hits- Hui (S). 2 hits- Friedland (s). 2B- Hui (S), Wessell (S), Pollioni (SHP).

Los Gatos 12, Menlo-Atherton 1

Just like they did a year ago, the Wildcats opened the season with a lopsided win over the Bears, who had their problems with senior right-hander Ethan Williams.

Williams threw four scoreless innings and struck out six in picking up the victory. The win improved Williams' career record to 13-0, while lowering his earned-run average below 1.20.

Hudson Schrader was the hitting star for Los Gatos. The senior had a home run and four RBI. Blake Mordaunt and Jackson Fitzpatrick had two hits each, including doubles, while Chase Frolich added a double and two RBI.

Sophomore Lucas Ten Vaanholt accounted for the Bears' lone run with a home run.

W: Williams | L: Brubacher. 2 hits- Fitzpatrick (LG), Mordaunt (LG). Ten Vaanholt (MA). 4 RBI- Schrader (LG). 2 RBI- Mordaunt (LG), Frolich (LG). HR- Schrader (LG), Ten Vaanholt (MA). 2B- Mordaunt (LG), Frolich (LG), Fitzpatrick (LG).

Menlo School 11, James Logan 1

Jack Freehill got his season off to a big start with three hits, including a home run and five RBI as the Knights won their 13th straight game, the longest current winning streak on the Peninsula.

That was more than enough for Jackson Flanagan, the reigning PAL-Ocean Division pitcher of the year. Flanagan went five innings, allowing a run and four hits on 62 pitches.

Zach Roeder and sophomore Willliam Larson had two hits each, while Matthew Majayla and Fletcher Cahill drove in two runs each.

W: Flanagan | L: Rojas | 3 hits- Freehill (MS). 2 hits- Roeder (MS), Larson (MS). 5 RBI- Freehill (MS). 2 RBI- Cahill (MS), Majalya (MS). HR- Freehill (MS), Vega (JL). 3B- Roeder (MS). 2B- Majalya (MS).

Mountain View 11, Prospect 3

The Spartans picked up their first win of the season by pounding out 10 hits and riding the right arm of senior Brennan Dooley.

Dooley went six innings, throwing 97 pitches. He allowed three runs on three hits and struck out nine as Mountain View advanced into Saturday's fifth-place game of the Tamone tourney.

Centerfielder Zander Yocum led the Spartans with two hits, including a double and two RBI. Ethan Frehner had two hits and drove in a pair as well, while Caleb Low had his first two-hit game of the season.

Ishan Devarapalli had a triple for Mountain View.

W: Dooley | L: Wang | 2 hits- Yocum (MV), Low (MV), Frehner (MV). 2 RBI- Yocum (MV), Frehner (MV). 3B- Davarapalli (MV). 2B- Yocum (MV).

Sequoia 9, Santa Clara 0

Nolan Fausto walked six but didn't give up a run or a hit as Sequoia advanced to Saturday's title game of the Tamone tourney with the shutout victory.

Cole Hymer led the Ravens' 12-hit attack with three hits, including a double, while Mario Fausto added two hits. Garrett Johnson had a triple.

The Ravens scored in every inning except the fourth. Their biggest inning was a three-run third.

Sequoia will play the winner of Thursday's game pitting Riordan and Wilcox.

Ollie Connoly pitched the final three innings to pick up the save, scattering three hits and striking out three.

W: N. Fausto | L: Losing Pitcher | 3 hits- Hymer (S). 2 hits- M. Fausto. 3B- Johnson (S). 2B- Hymer (S).

Ann Sobrato 6, Homestead 5

Homestead managed just five hits in its season opener and lost one-run contest to visiting Sobrato.

W: Flores | L: Lohitsa | S: Rubbo | 3 hits- Rubbo (AS), Brown (AS). 2 hits- Pagan (AS), Rains (AS), Rose (AS). 2 RBI- Brown (AS).

Valley Christian 6, Cardinal Newman 1

Alex Kim and Gabe Felix combined to hold Cardinal Newman to a run on five hits, while striking out nine. Kim went the first four to pick up the victory, while Felix is credited with the save.

The double play combination of second baseman Nathan Choi and shortstop Colton Hadfield provided much of the offense for the Warriors. Each had two hits, including a double for Hadfield.

Nathan Miller drove in two runs for the Warriors in the game that was played at Santa Clara University.

W: Kim | L: Douglas | S: Felix | 2 hits- Hadfield (VC), Choi (VC). 2 RBI- Miller (VC). 2B- Lipisi (VC), Hadfield (VC), Miller (VC)

Mills 15, Gunn 5

Sophomore Lucas Wong pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief to pick up the victory and drove in two runs, while Derek Delima, Tyler Yuan and Carson Chiu had two RBI each for the Vikings.

W: Wong | L: Lee| 2 hits- Bogard (G). 2 RBI- Delima (M), Yuan (M), Wong (M), Chiv (M)

St Ignatius Prep vs. De La Salle cancelled

The game between St. Ignatius Prep and De La Salle was not played Wednesday after the De La Salle administration suspended its baseball team for the first five games of the season for unknown improper actions.