BASEBALL: Late Game Heroics Push Milpitas Past Lynbrook

The Score: Milpitas 3, Lynbrook 2.

The Star: Milpitas High senior baseball player Armani Thompson knew if he could get himself on base, his teammates would find a way to get him safely home. The speedy outfielder got his wish during a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division contest against Lynbrook High Thursday afternoon at Milpitas High.

Thompson drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh—the third time in the game the savvy senior found himself on base--then stole his second bag of the afternoon with ease to put himself in scoring position. Senior Matt Menezes capped off the late game surge, poking a single through the right side of the infield into shallow right field. The opposite field strike allowed the Trojans fastest base runner to fly around third and score the third and final run. Milpitas defeated Lynbrook 3-2, only two days removed from a 7-6 triumph over Lynbrook at Lynbrook High.

The Turning Point: Five of the first eight batters of the game for Lynbrook reached base, causing Milpitas High head coach Chuy Zamudio to make a tough decision early. The coach pulled all the right strings on Thursday, none bigger than taking the ball from his starter who had trouble finding the strike zone in the first two innings and handing it over to freshman Ronnie Reed.

Reed came right in and quickly worked his team out of the second inning jam. He struck out the first Lynbrook hitter to face him looking, then got a fielder’s choice out and a clutch inning-ending grab by right fielder Anthony Paz to leave two runners stranded.

The freshman’s poise on the hill kept his team close. Reed pitched six strong innings in relief, striking out three and only allowing one earned run.

The Quotes: “You always have to take the first strike,” Milpitas senior outfielder Armani Thompson said about his approach during his final at-bat in the seventh inning. “If I got on, I had confidence in my teammates that they would get me in. As long as we execute, we can beat anyone. You saw that today. The ball was hit to the opposite field and it allowed me to score.”

What's Next? Milpitas improved to 3-3 in El Camino play after the pair of wins over Lynbrook this week. The Trojans improve to 7-3-1 overall and resume action next week against Fremont High-Sunnyvale.  

Bottom Line: The Trojans did the little things right and made the most of their opportunities during the low scoring affair. Down 1-0 going into the third inning, Milpitas put two runners aboard off hits from Reed and Thompson. A clutch two-out knock from Paz allowed both runners to score, putting the home team ahead 2-1 after three innings of play. Timely two-out hitting, strong pitching and key defensive plays allowed the hosts to come away with an all important early season league win.

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Milpitas 3, Lynbrook 2

M 9 0 1 0 2 4 4- 3 6 0

L 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 – 2 8 0

WP: Reed. LP: Calhoun

Records: Milpitas 7-3-1, 3-3 El Camino. Lynbrook 4-5, 1-4 El Camino.