Minal Jalil

Senior Saahil Herrero takes a swing. In the sixth inning, Saahil hits a ball towards second base and nearly makes it to first base before being tagged out by a Priory outfielder.

Varsity Boys Baseball faced off against the Priory Panthers in a 1-4 game on April 29 at Woodside Priory in Portola Valley. 

To kick off the first inning, Sophomore outfielder Ryan Pham hit a single and made it to first base. Captain Aarav Borthakur (12) received a wild pitch which Ryan translated into a stolen second base. Although Aarav got out when he hit a grounded ball which was quickly picked up by the Panther’s defense, Ryan made it to third base. Priory’s outfielders caught Mason Brooks’ (10) pop fly, but Ryan capitalized on the hit and ran home, putting Harker up at 1-0 to end their possession. 

The Eagles’ batters battled the Panthers’ defense, and the Panthers were unable to score any runs in the first inning. Still, Priory’s defense proved to be a challenge for Harker. 

“Ryan had a great hit to center field, and then we were able to manufacture a run to get him across the bases and get him in for a score,” Head Coach Jon Cvitanich said. “Priory, they have a lot of good hitters on their team, and they put the ball in play, which forced us to try and make plays on defense.”

The Panthers threw out catcher Jackson Powell (11) at first base after his attempted bunt hit, and then followed by catching two consecutive batters, Ryan and Aarav, out as well, quickly ending Harker’s possession in the second inning. 

Priory capitalized on their momentum and scored two runs in the second inning, breaking the tie and setting the score to 1-2. Ryan caught a deep ball sent to centerfield, ending the second inning.  

In the third inning, a Priory outfielder caught Aarav’s high hit and outfielder Austin Zhao (9) struck out, so the teams switched sides.

Both teams failed to put up any runs in the third inning. Aarav snatched a hit sent between first and second base, throwing it to Matt on first base to end Priory’s possession with the score remaining at 1-2. 

Harker’s fourth inning was short-lived, with no batters making it to first base and three swift outs from Priory’s defense. 

Pitcher Shaurya Jain (10) clapped back, striking out Priory’s first batter. However, the Panther’s third batter walked and later stole second. A misthrow from Shaurya to Matt allowed the runner to sprint home and another batter to make first, upping the score to 1-3. Shaurya struck out another batter, and Aarav caught a deep ball to center field. The catch ended the fourth inning, and the teams switched possessions.  

Both teams made close attempts to score in the fifth but fell short. On defense, Aarav caught a high fly ball between first and second base. Shaurya quickly reacted when a pitch missed the catcher’s glove, tagging out a Priory runner who tried to steal home. Outfielder Saahil Herrero (12) comments on how Shaurya leads the team as a pitcher.

“I thought Shaurya pitched a really great game,” Saahil said. “He has a lot of things going for him with his game. He can pitch a lot of types of pitches and create a lot of speed with his pitches, especially his fastballs. He did really well on the mound.” 

Priory scored again in the sixth, furthering their lead to 1-4. Infielder Vidwat Shekar (9) caught a ball midair and threw it to third baseman Mason, who tagged out the runner, manufacturing a double play for the Eagles that ended the sixth inning. 

In the final inning, Matt walked to first, and outfielder Pedro Castro III (10) faced three balls, but Harker was unable to close the gap. The game ended in a 1-4 loss, and Vidwat reflected on the Eagles’ resilience. 

“I think we battled,” Vidwat said. “We kept the game tight, kept it really close and entertaining. I think we learned a lot from it. We made some errors, and we fought through adversity. We fought until the last strike.”

Varsity baseball is currently 10-8 overall and 7-5 in league. They take on Jefferson at Washington Park today at 4:00 p.m.