Panthers beat depleted King's

SUNNYVALE – Burlingame, behind a 14-hit attack, moved to within a game of winning a share of the PAL-Bay Division crown with a 10-3 victory over The King's Academy on Wednesday, but the bigger news might have taken place a few days earlier.

Nate Plata, the senior catcher with The King's Academy who will play in the fall at UC-Davis, broke a bone while fouling a pitch off his left foot in last Thursday's victory over Menlo School and is done for the season.

Plata was in uniform for pregame Senior Day ceremonies but was on crutches and in a cast. The school's all-time leader with 125-career hits and the 2024 Bay Division Player of the Year will have to watch as the Knights advance to the Central Coast Section tournament.

Without him in the lineup, Burlingame lefty Nash Trautwein's assignment was exponentially easier. The again, these Panthers have hit their stride and are showing a brand of baseball that on Wednesday featured good pitching, errorless defense and an offense that has been absent for much of the year.

The Panthers, who can wrap up a share of the Bay Division crown with a win against the visiting Knights on Friday or a Menlo-Atherton loss at Hillsdale on Friday or Saturday against visiting Sequoia.

Burlingame broke open a close game by scoring five runs in the fifth inning. A misplayed bunt and two walks loaded the bases before Mark O'Grady's fielder's choice grounder plated one run.

Oscar Osuna-Lopez, who had three hits in the game, following with a two-run single. Slade Flores, who also had three hits, singled home another run to make it 8-1. Shortstop Jean-Luc Uharriet then singled in the fifth run of the inning.

O'Grady and Uharriet had two hits each, while Casey Kirk and Brandon Kinoshita had two hits each for the Knights.

W: Trautwein | L: Wheeler | 3 hits- Osuna-Lopez (B), Flores (B). 2 hits- O'Grady (B), Uharriet (B), Kirk (TKA), Kinoshita (TKA). 3 RBI- Osuna-Lopez (B). 2B- Flores (B), Kinoshita (TKA).

Menlo-Atherton 11, Hillsdale 1

Menlo-Atherton remained one-half game behind Burlingame in the Bay Division standings with two games to play.

Jake Scott had two hits and drove in three runs for the Bears, while Merrick Lee and Josehph Pagee had two hits and two RBI each. Owen Coupe also drove in two runs.

W: Brubacher | L: Dang | 2 hits- Lee (MA), Scott (MA), Pagee (MA). 3 RBI- Scott (MA), 2 RBI-Ow. Coupe (MA), Pagee (MA). 2B- Pagee (MA), Scott (MA), Ten Vaanholt (MA), Kelly (MA), Ow. Coupe (MA).

Capuchino 7, Carlmont 6, 9 innings

The Mustangs battled back from a 6-5 deficit to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk off the Scots.

Nathan Meyer led off the inning with a single. He scored on Jordan Estrella's triple that tied the game at 6. Estrella scored on Cruz Alfaro's base hit to give the Mustangs the victory.

Alfaro finished the game with three hits and two RBI. Dominic Fanara had a home run and two RBI, while William Ferreira hit a home run.

Carlmont got two hits from Lucas Chan, Ryan Weiss, Vishnu Iyer, Ryan Attard and Mikey Nishikawa. Iyer drove in two runs.

The same two teams will close out their regular season on Friday in Belmont.

W: Meyer | L: Wellman | 3 hits- Alfaro (Cap). 2 hits- Chan (C), Weiss (C), Iyer (C), Attard (C), Nishikawa (C). 2 RBI- Iyer (C), Alfaro (Cap), Fanara (Cap). HR- Fanara (Cap), Ferreira (Cap). 3B- Estrella (Cap). 2B- Nishikawa (C), Attard (C), Weiss (C).

Menlo School 8, Sequoia 3

Matthew Majalya had two hits, including his fifth home run of the season, while Jack Freehill had two hits and two RBI for the Knights, who might have placed the final dagger in Sequoia's postseason hopes.

Logan Tran also had two hits for the Knights, who will travel to Sequoia on Friday for their regular-season finale.

Cole Hymer had two hits for Sequoia.

W: Cahill | L: Johnson | 3 hits- Larson (MS). 2 hits- Hymer (S), Freehill (MS), Majalya (MS), Tran (MS). 2 RBI- Freehill (MS). HR- Majalya (MS). 3B- Freehill (MS). 2B- Winfield (S), Wynn (S).

SCVAL-DE ANZA DIVISION

Los Gatos 9, Palo Alto 0

The trio of Gavis Seiler, Nicholas Olcott and Nolan Jones held a hard-hitting Palo Alto squad, one of the hottest offenses around, to five hits in the Wildcats shutout victory.

Seiler went the first four innings to pick up the victory. He struck out three and waked two, while allowing three hits.

Brady Simon and Chase Frolich had two hits each, while Sully Roberts and Rowen Smith drove in two runs each. Frolich, who entered the game with a Peninsula-best 4- RBI, had two more and will likely clinch the RBI crown.

W: Seiler | L: Chen | 2 hits- Simon (LG), Frolich (LG), 3 RBI- Roberts (LG). 2 RBI- Frolich (LG), Smith (LG). 3B- Frolich (LG). 2B- Musser (LG), Frolich (LG), Roberts (LG).

Homestead 14, Los Altos 7

The Mustangs spotted Los Altos a 6-0 lead after two innings and then proceeded to outscore the Eagles, 14-1 the rest of the way.

Ivan Hwang had three hits, including a home run, and drove in four runs, while Joshua Fraleigh, Isaiah Cho and Aiden Maylard had three hits each.

Drew Hamburger, who struck out three in 1 1/3 innings of work to pick up the win, had two hits and drove in three runs.

Jonah Altschuler had two hits for the Eagles, who will travel to Mountain View on Friday. Homestead will host Santa Clara on Friday.

W: Hamburger | L: Klinker | 3 hits- Fraleigh (H), Hwang (H), Cho (H), Maylard (H). 2 hits- Altschuler (LA), Hamburger (H), Duong (H). 4 RBI- Hwang (H). 3 RBI- Hamburger (H). 3B- Hamburger (H). 2B- Hwang (H), Altschuler (LA), Wharton (LA), Hamby (LA).

Wilcox 10, Santa Clara 3

Eliah Laureles made his first start in more than a month and got the win, while Bishop Roque drove in three runs and Max Hales-Tzoutzov had two hits for the Chargers, who turned up for the CCS tourney with the victory

Santa Clara, behind a four-hit, two-RBI performance from Dominick Chavarria, had a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth before the Chargers took the lead for good with six runs.

Wilcox will host Los Gatos, the De Anza Division champion, in Friday's regular-season finale.

W: Laureles | L: Tesimale | 3 hits- Chavarria (SC). 2 hits- Sanchez (SC), Hales (W). 3 RBI- Roque (W). 2 RBI- Chavarria (SC). 2B- Chavarria (SC), Roque (W), Jackson (W), Hales-Tzoutzov (W).