Samohi Baseball Tunes Up for Showdown

It's been the tale of two seasons for the baseball team. The first one was a disaster, as the Vikings staggered to an 0-8 start on their way to a dismal 3-13 record. Since the beginning of play, however, they are 7-3 and find themselves on the verge of the league title.

Samohi (10-16 overall, 7-0 in league) remained on track for next week's home-and-home series with defending co-champion Culver City by routing host Beverly Hills 13-1 in five innings Thursday night at La Cienega Park.

"This is probably the best game we've played all season," Vikings Coach said. "We didn't miss signs, guys were hitting the ball with authority and pitched really well."

Philip-Guide said there's nothing magical about the team's turnaround. Samohi is simply reaping the benefits of a tough nonleague schedule that masked just how competitive the Vikings really are.

"We do that for a reason," Philip-Guide said of scheduling top-tier teams early. "Most of those teams we played [in tournaments] at the start of the year would run away with our league."

The strategy is paying off now, as the Vikings are within half a game of Culver City (13-10-1, 8-0) and can pull even in the standings provided they beat Inglewood in a makeup game Saturday at Samohi. Philip-Guide warned this is no time to look past the fifth-place Sentinels, who lost to the Vikings 16-2 in five innings in their first meeting.

"We're a half-game out and you'd hate to overlook it," he said of the Inglewood game. "If we lose, Culver City won't matter. Hopefully, having that one more game [before we play them] will keep us sharp. I'm hoping it'll work to our advantage."

The magnitude of Samo's lopsided win Thursday was not lost on Culver City, as the Centaurs showed up to watch. Perhaps that provided added motivation for the Vikings, who gave their rivals something to think about heading into next week's showdown.

"We picked a good time to play our best game," said Philip-Guide, who hopes the league champion isn't decided by a coin flip. "If we end up tied like last year that's how it's done and I don't think that's fair to the kids. Let's decide it on the field."

The Inglewood game is Saturday at 11 a.m., then the Vikings open their home-and-home set with Culver City on the road Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. before returning to campus to host the Centaurs in the season finale at 3:15 p.m. next Thursday. After that, it's on to season No. 3: the postseason. 

Looking ahead to next week's match-up, Philip-Guide sized up Culver City's team: "They're really fundamentally sound, their pitchers work the strike zone and they put constant pressure on you. They give teams a lot to worry about."