The Palma Chieftains will head out to challenge the Menlo School Knights at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Palma 1.7, Menlo School 4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Palma's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Christopher with a sharp 7-0 win. Considering the Chieftains have won three contests by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Alan Gonzalez
| 03/18/25 @ Christopher | 13 |
| 05/08/24 vs Monte Vista Christian | 7 |
| 03/21/24 vs Hollister | 7 |
| 03/01/25 vs Stevenson | 6 |
| 03/14/24 @ Salinas | 6 |
Rocco Razzeca and Alan Gonzalez were a major factor no matter where they played. Throwing, Razzeca tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Gonzalez didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 13 over six innings pitched. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts. At the plate, Razzeca scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4, while Gonzalez scored a run while going 3-for-4. Razzeca is becoming a predictor of Palma's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 1-2 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Johnny Carnazzo was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-4. Wyatt Bakker also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, Menlo School made easy work of Westmont on Thursday and carried off a 9-1 victory.
Like Palma, Menlo School also got a great game from a two-way player: Jackson Flanagan. On the mound, he tossed seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Flanagan has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Chuck Wynn was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Jack Freehill, who scored three runs and stole Two bases. while going 2-for-3.
Menlo School was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .412. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Westmont only posted a batting average of .167.
The win made it two in a row for Palma and bumps their season record up to 4-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs on average over those games. As for Menlo School, their record is now 3-5.
Menlo School's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Palma has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Menlo School, though, as they've been averaging only 4.1 strikeouts. Will Palma keep running through batters, or will Menlo School buck the trend? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
