Ravens' offense makes an early statement

SANTA CLARA – With two swings of the bat on Monday, Morgan Winfield accounted for close to 800 feet – and yet had just two singles to show for his efforts as both bounded hard off the MacDonald High fence in Sequoia's season-opening 14-2 victory over Mountain View on Monday.

He admits he got caught watching the first one, a majestic flyball to left-center field in the fifth inning that he was certain would clear the fence.

"I was jumping around watching it," he said, half-embarrassed for getting caught admiring his own work.

The ball hit high off the top of the fence and bounded back into play. A run scored on the play and allowed Winfield to salvage some dignity by bellyflopping into second base while the throw went home.

An inning later, he lined one to right field that just kept going and hit hard off the fence, allowing two more runs to score. His two singles don't look nearly as impressive as they were, but his three RBI speak resoundingly.

It was that kind of day for the Ravens, who pounded out 13 hits, including two each from Luke Ostrander, Cole Hymer and Blake Whitaker, who also accounted for four of the Ravens' six stolen bases.

That was more than enough offense for Mario Fausto and Garrett Johnson, who combined to scatter four hits and strike out six for the Ravens, who advanced into the Wednesday winner's bracket of the Tamone tourney.

Three Things We Liked

• New duds. Both teams debuted new uniforms on Monday. The Spartans wore white button-downs with black and gold trip, while Sequoia took a page from the New York Mets' City Connect look by wearing charcoal gray with purple pinstripes and a SEQ on the front.
• Defense. A year ago, the Ravens were victimized by their defense. In their opener, they made all the playing, including gems from Winfield, who fielding a ball to his left and bounced a long throw from deep third base to get make the play, and shortstop Dom De La Cruz, who went down the left-field line to make a putout.
• The Spartans struggled defensively, committing four errors, but shortstop Preston Huang went up the middle to snag a Garrett Johnson one-hopper and make the long throw from shallow centerfield to end the fifth inning.

Key Moment: Mountain View got a leadoff single from Huang and a walk to put two runners on in the first inning. Both runners moved into scoring position of Zander Yocum's flyout to deep right field, but Fausto took over by striking out the next two hitters to get out of the first unscathed. The Ravens took the lead for good in the top of the second on catch Connor Murray's two-run single to right field.

Up Next: The Ravens will play Wednesday night against Santa Clara, which beat Prospect. Mountain View will play the 4 p.m. game against Prospect. This schedule could change if rain washes out Tuesday's games.

Santa Clara 15, Prospect 1

The Bruins opened defense of the CCS-Division IV crown with a resounding victory over Prospect.

Zach Gallegos, one of the few holdovers from last year's 29-3 squad, had a big start to his senior year by driving in four runs with a home run and a double. Freshman Josh Capps collected three hits and drove in three runs in his first high school contest.

Ian Denny and Nathanial Sanchez had two RBI each. Sanchez went the distance, allowing just three hits, while striking out seven.

The Bruins broke open the five-inning contest with an 11-run fourth inning.

The King's Academy 8, Ann Sobrato 5

Taiyo Peterson and Dominic Myung combined to allow two runs over the final five innings as the Knights opened their season with a victory.

Peterson added two hits, including a double, while Myung drove in a pair. Sophomore Brandon Kinoshito had two hits, while Justin Cho drove in three runs.