Sports Digest: Santa Clara and Wilcox High School Baseball and Softball
By Robert Haugh
The smell of pine tar, fresh cut grass and sunflower seeds floating about has been in full swing for some time now. Both Santa Clara and Wilcox High School baseball and softball players are in the home stretch of the season.
The Wilcox baseball team has played well, albeit they have fierce competition in the always-potent De Anza division. Following three straight wins, the Chargers (13-11, 6-5 De Anza division) sit forth in the division and currently are projected by Prep2Prep to take the No. 1 in the CCS Division 1 playoffs.
Their last three games were a 3-0 win over Fremont, 5-4 win over Piedmont Hills and a 15-1 win over Milpitas. Their final three regular season games are today at Milpitas, then they host Los Gatos on April 26 and conclude the regular season on April 28 at Los Gatos.
They have a young, yet veteran squad featuring many multi-sport athletes.
The Santa Clara Bruins (5-8-2, 5-4 El Camino division) have nine games remaining on their slate. They fell 7-1 to Cupertino on April 20 and play at Cupertino on April 27. They are currently projected to be the No. 16 seed by Prep2Prep in the CCS Div. 1 playoffs, which would give them a first-round game against cross-town rival Wilcox.
The Santa Clara Lady Bruins softball (11-7, 4-3 De Anza division) has had a challenging year in the strong De Anza division, but are third in the division seven games remaining. They have a strong likelihood of advancing in CCS playoffs. They play at co-division-leading Los Gatos (6-1 division) on April 25, host cross-town rival Wilcox on April 27 at 4 p.m. and play at co-division leader Mountain View (6-1 division) on May 2.
Former Santa Red Sox Stars Meet in Major League Action
A trio of former Santa Clara Red Sox players recently gathered for a photo op when the Miami Marlins visited the Seattle Mariners. Marlins pitcher Kyle Barraclough actually pitched against former teammate, Seattle outfielder Mitch Haniger in the ninth inning of a game that almost ended up a no-hitter for the Miami team. Mariners pitcher Evan Marshall was also a teammate of Haniger and Barraclough on the Red Sox. The trio were coached by Santa Claran Chuck Blair, currently a Parks and Recreation Commissioner. They also competed against one another in high school and Little League.
We will update this article as more information is available, such as detailed player stats.