Everyone gets into the act in Wildcats' 12-2 victory

Paloma Valley infielder Walker Bush throws to first during Thursday's win. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

By Paige Mendez, Correspondent

The Paloma Valley High baseball team took a 12-2 win over Orange Vista in their final game of the two-game series Thursday afternoon.

The starting pitcher for the Wildcats, Brendan Moore, got the momentum rolling for his team early on by throwing two strikeouts and a flyout in the top of the first. Moore, who had not started a game this season until Thursday, said he was happy to take care of things from the get-go for his team.

“It was nice to get a start in me,” Moore said. “I felt like I just did my job out there for my team.”

That job included striking out five of the 15 batters he faced and allowing just three hits and one run.

In the time that he was doing that job, his teammates were also showing up at the plate. The offense was led by a single from Jaylen Adams followed three batters later by a double from Gilberto Rodriguez that brought two runners in, then Joey Davis singled to center field a few at-bats later to bring in another run before the end of the first.

The second inning went similarly with a double from Jake Wells followed by a single from Walker Bush that brought Wells across the plate. Then a single from Taytum Reeves brought in the team’s fifth run before that inning ended.

No runs were scored by Paloma in the third inning but Orange Vista scored their first run in the fourth on a double to left field.

The Wildcats answered by loading the bases on a hit-by-pitch and two singles from Koehn Dalinghaus and Chapman Weber. Nate Seward then doubled on a hard grounder and brought Dalinghaus home.

Elijah Karney took over for Moore on the mound in the fifth inning and the Coyotes scored one more run but it would be their last of the game, while the Wildcats were far from done.

Jake Wells started off their half of the inning with a triple, followed by a single from Aedan Espiritu that scored Wells. Phillip Wolhar, Weber, and Gavin Garcia each hit a single after that and Seward doubled to left field —all of which brought the score to 10-2.

Three quick outs thrown by Weber—who took over for Karney on the mound—meant Paloma got back to the plate quickly.

Although they didn’t put up any more hits, aggressive base running on a few walks led to two runs that ended the game due to the 10-run mercy rule with a final score of 12-2.

Head coach Jason Berni said he was happy to see such a well-distributed performance from his team this far into the season.

“Any time we have an opportunity to get this many guys in the game, its’s always nice to see,” Berni said. “It’s nice to get everybody in the game. They train and work hard all year and it’s fun, especially towards the end of the year.”

Berni switched nearly his entire lineup during the game, giving at least 20 kids a chance to see action on the field. Between those 20 players, the team recorded 12 RBI’s on 15 hits with just one batter striking out in 41 total at-bats.

The three pitchers for Paloma threw six strikeouts in 22 at-bats, allowing just three hits and one earned run.

The Wildcats are four games away from postseason play. The first will be senior night on Saturday and the last two will be against crosstown rival, Heritage, next Tuesday and Thursday. Berni said those games should help prepare his team for playoffs.

“Both of those should feel like a playoff-type of environment and there’s nothing better than playing games like that heading into playoffs,” said Berni.

Brendan Moore had a good outing in his first start on the mound this season. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Gilberto Rodriguez connects for one of the Wildcats' many hits on Thursday. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Paloma Valley outfielder Gavin Garcia settles under a fly ball on Thursday. (Photo by Rick Rowell)