APRIL 11 – 17
JV baseball reaches 11-game win streak with strong offense

The Performance of the Week for the week of April 11-17 was the JV baseball team’s 11-game win streak which put the Tigers at the top spot in the Capital Valley Conference league standings for the time being. The streak concluded with the Tigers’ third consecutive win over Bella Vista.

Sophomore first baseman Brendan Guttman believes that the main reason for the stretch was the team’s increase in efficiency of its offense and its pitching.

According to him, the team’s starting pitching lineup was really dominant and was able to shut down many of the boys’ opponents.

During their streak the Tigers outscored their opponents 129-38 in runs, defeating Del Campo twice and sweeping Cosumnes Oaks, Antelope and Bella Vista.

“We’ve been playing a lot looser and the bats are really starting to come around,” Guttman said. “Pitching has been really dominant and we’ve had a lot of timely hitting in key situations.”

Guttman also attributed some of the team’s offensive success during the stretch to sophomore catcher Blake Beaman who was an “on-base machine” over the duration of the streak.

The run was eventually snapped in the team’s loss against the Whitney Wildcats.

APRIL 18 – 24
Softball’s walk-off win over Wolfpack earns them top spot

The Performance of the Week for the week of April 18-24 was the varsity softball team’s 7-4 walk-off victory against the Cosumnes Oaks Wolfpack. The win lifted the Tigers to 6-3 in league and earned them a shared first place spot in the Capital Valley Conference standings with Whitney, Bella Vista and Cosumnes Oaks, keeping their playoff goals in sight.

Furthermore, the victory has since allowed them to become the current sole holder of the number one spot.

“It was nerve wracking going into the game because I knew we had to get this win if we wanted a chance at playoffs,” sophomore first baseman Maddie Amos said. “I think with this win we will have a lot more confidence in the back half to help us along our road to a ring.”

The Tigers were trailing 4-1 with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning until junior pitcher Megan Anderson hit a three-run home-run to tie the game. Afterwards, Anderson held off the Wolfpack with her pitching as the two teams battled for almost three full scoreless innings.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Amos stepped up to the plate with two outs and two runners on base and hit the Tigers’ second three-run home-run of the game, allowing them to achieve the victory.

“I think their momentum died and ours overpowered theirs,” Amos said. “I knew all I needed to do was hit the ball to the outfield and I knew Aly [Manzo] was going to score. The pitch was right there so I took it.”

APRIL 25 – MAY 1
Volleyball sweeps Whitney 3-0 to keep title hopes alive

he Performance of the Week for the week of April 25-May 1 was the varsity boys volleyball team’s 3-0 sweep against the Whitney Wildcats. The Tigers sought revenge after being swept by the Wildcats during their first encounter earlier this season where they were handed their first and only league loss.

They achieved their goal, defeating the Wildcats 25-23, 25-19 and 25-21 in three straight sets. According to the team, the Wildcats were the biggest obstacle in the Tigers’ pursuit of a league banner and the win keeps them in contention for the league title.

According to junior captain and pin hitter Neal Reilly, the boys played with a very high level of intensity.

He attributed some of this energy to the excitement and support of the home crowd attending the game.

Reilly felt that the boys played much better than they had in their previous game against Bella Vista and thought that they played selflessly and cohesively.

“Both of our middles, [Sam Toomey and Nick Johnson] stepped up,” Reilly said. “Honestly all of us had a great game and we played as a team, rather than playing for ourselves. It was as a team, and you could definitely see a difference.”

Because of Whitney’s equally dominant performance this season, both teams will share a co-championship title if they win the remainder of their league games and will then have to play another match to determine their rankings for playoffs.