The 3rd inning was the big one for the Conquerors. With a 2-1 lead, Los Altos unleashed a total of 6 hits, increasing the lead to 8-1. Superutilityman Michael Ahumada led things off with a double to the gap in left-center. Pitcher Daniel Sandello helped his own cause, legging out an infield basehit on a grounder to deep short. Left fielder Matt Chambers promptly banged a basehit to left field, scoring �Yahoomada.� After the first out of the inning, senior Jason Estrada continued the hit parade with a single to centerfield. Sophomore Jesus Sanchez, making his first start of the year as a DH, then joined in on the fun with a single to centerfield, driving in yet two more runs. Second baseman Josh Cortez beat out an infield single, and catcher Mario Romero closed out the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Estrada and Chambers combined to go 7 for 7, 4 RBIs, 5 runs scored, with 2 SBs. Estrada, for the second straight game, missed hitting for the cycle by one homerun. Chambers, buoyed by the news that he would be playing leftfield, predicted that he would have a good day at the plate, saying that the shift to left field put him in more familiar surroundings. �I like to patrol the outfield,� Chambers said. �It�s only there that I am able to fully exploit my defensive prowess.�
Coming off of his near no-hitter, Sandello went 5 innings, allowing only 1 earned run on 3 hits and 2 walks. Ahumada relieved Sandello in the 6th inning and pitched two innings of scoreless baseball to end the game.
There were two defensive items to highlight on the day. Centerfielder Edward Tomsio was able to gun down Garey rightfielder Adam Villa on the basepaths when he mistakenly tried to advance on �Wheels.� Tomsio made an Ichiro-like throw that landed squarely in third baseman Rivera�s glove for an easy putout. Rivera was the star of the second play that could have easily been a Sportscenter play. Rivera showed sparks of Beltre-like defensive brilliance in the 6th inning, making a diving stop to the left on a groundball and using his cannon-esque arm to gun down Cesar Vivanco.
The Conquerors return to action on Monday against Workman High School @ Los Altos at 3:15 PM. Senior Jeff Varela is slated to make his first career Varsity start on the mound.