De La Salle Win Over Acalanes Has Triple Play, Big Flies

Baseball fans were treated to two Big Flies and a triple play on a memorable Saturday afternoon at Islanders Field in Lathrop.

De La Salle and Acalanes each belted two-run homers – one by the Spartans’ Anthony Martinez and one by the Dons’ Kyle White - as the Spartans extended their winning streak to eight with a 7-4 nonleague triumph over the gritty Dons.

De La Salle (15-4) improved to 3-0 this season at Islanders Field, its scenic home away from home next to the San Joaquin River. The big picture looks bright for Spartans head coach David Jeans, whose team played less than 24 hours after rallying past Foothill for a 7-5 victory in extra innings in East Bay Athletic League action.

Was Jeans worried about a possible letdown on Saturday?

“No, not really,” he said. “We take it one game at a time. Yesterday was a battle, we woke up this morning, we hit, and we were ready for this game.”

De La Salle first baseman Joey Donnelly, a Cal-bound senior, had a hand in every aspect of the rare triple play – the first one Jeans has experienced as a coach. With runners on first and second and the Spartans leading 7-2, the Dons tried an ill-fated hit-and-run. Donnelly caught an infield pop, tagged first and threw to the shortstop who tagged second to complete the triple play.

The stunning sequence helped reliever Peter Storjohann, in his first varsity action, get through the inning unscathed.

“Storj came in and did a great job,” Donnelly said. “Got into a little bit of trouble and then got the kid to pop up, and I got lucky. They had a hit-and-run on, triple play, out of the inning. It was good.”

The Dons made another big push in the seventh as the lefty White followed a Miles Bergman leadoff single with a home run to right to cut the deficit to 7-4. One out later, Brady Huchingson tripled to center, but the Spartans closed it out.

Martinez, the Spartans’ cleanup hitter who’s headed to UC Irvine, crushed his two-run shot in the third to right-center. It marked his second Big Fly of the season.

“It felt amazing off the bat,” Martinez said of the ball that landed on a building. “I thought it was going to be a double, but it ended up carrying out and it felt awesome.”

In the immediate aftermath he donned a white cowboy hat, a new Spartans tradition, as he was mobbed by his teammates near the dugout. “Awesome, it was a great feeling,” he said.

Acalanes (6-6) had its own highlights and a scare Saturday afternoon. Heralded shortstop Davis Diaz, a Vanderbilt commit, had to exit the game after suffering an apparent hamstring injury running to first on a ground ball.

“He came up halfway down the line with a little tug on the hamstring. He says he’s OK, but nothing to risk there (by leaving him in the game),” Acalanes coach Connor Hornsby said.

Hornsby took the defeat in stride. His team fought hard.

“Take away one inning from us and a couple miscues here and there and I think it’s a different ballgame for us,” he said. “Triple play definitely didn’t help us there. That was a little odd; doesn’t always happen. Take that away and I think we compete there till the end.”

Starter Michael Castelli gave the Dons five good innings, the coach said, and Sam Heyman and Dante Montgomery were strong in relief.

Likewise, Jeans praised his pitchers, paced by junior starter Elias Gennis and junior reliever Donovan Chriss, who worked two strong innings.

De La Salle senior No. 9 hitter Caleb Chance also had a big game with four RBIs, courtesy of a two-run triple in a five-run third and two-run single in the fourth.

“Caleb’s got really a comfortable spot for him,” Jeans said. “He’s going to San Francisco State and he’s a good senior. He’s a leader and he’s thriving in that role right now.”

Hornsby said he told the team before the game that the winner was “going to make (the fewest) mistakes, not only in physical errors but mental errors, and that pretty much showed up in the end.”

In addition to an evolving high school schedule, top individual talent will be featured in upcoming showcase events at Islanders Field:

* June 4-6 - Bay Area World Series Underclass.

* June 11-14 - NorCal World Series.

* June 15-16 - MLB Area Code Tryouts Underclass and Upper-class.

* June 17-20 - National Invitational Tournament managed by Five Tool.

* June 22 - Prep Baseball Report California State ID Games.

* June 25-27 - Perfect Game West Nationals.

* Jeans hurried after the game to see his former star pitcher Kyle Harrison pitch for the San Jose Giants against Fresno. He was in for a treat. Harrison later fired three shutout innings and struck out seven in a 3-1 win.