The latest chapter of the West Valley/College of San Mateo rivalry will not be remembered for its pitching. Saturday's 12-11 ten-inning thriller will instead be recalled for the bats of both squads, which combined for five home runs, 28 hits and 13 extra-base knocks.
The three hour marathon ended in the bottom of the tenth on Jayce Dobie's double to the scoreboard in right center, driving in Karter Wong and sending the large crowd out of Valhalla with lots to talk about on the ride home.
The game had all the indications of a Viking rout, at least through the first three innings. While WVC starter Dobie kept the Bulldogs in check on one hit through three, the Viking offense used the long ball to explode to a 6-0 lead.
Logan Stelling opened the second with a solo shot to deep left, his team-leading seventh homer of the year. Dylan Unangst followed with a double to left; he came home two batters later on a two-out Gabriel Tapia double to the left field fence.
The 2-0 Viking lead soon grew to 6-0 in the third, thanks again to the long ball. Wong opened with a single to center, Dobie walked and Stelling loaded the bases with a single. James Bose drove in Wong with a sacrifice fly to right and, with two outs, up stepped Unangst.
The sophomore first baseman crushed a shot to straightaway right, bringing home Dobie and Stelling. His three-run blast made it 6-0 and the Vikings (14-6) looked to be in cruise control.
The Bulldogs (10-7) had other ideas. Eight runs on five hits, including a trio of doubles, and back-to-back walks chased Dobie and leapfrogged CSM to an 8-6 lead in the fourth. West Valley climbed to within 8-7 in the fourth on a Wong RBI single that scored Tapia, who had singled. The Bulldogs made it 11-7 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth and a Jojo Cardinale solo homer in the sixth. San Mateo would not score again.
An Alan Ramirez three-run shot over the Blue Monster in left drove in Ryan Lordier and Wong and the Vikings were just a run back at 11-10. WVC reliever Jake Jones set the Bulldogs down in order in the seventh and eighth and was just a foul ball short of an Immaculate Inning (three strikeouts on nine pitches) in the top of the eighth.
West Valley got the equalizer in the home half of the eighth when Stelling dribbled a slow roller down the third base line that hit the bag just before stopping, knocking in Wong, who had singled and reached third on a Ramirez single and a controversial runner's interference out by Dobie.
After a scoreless ninth, the Bulldogs put runners on first and second with one out in the top of the tenth. A 6-4, 4-3 double play ended the CSM tenth and set the stage for Dobie's heroics.
Wong led off the Viking tenth with a single to right and then stole second. After a Ramirez fly out to right, Dobie lined a Chase Yocum pitch to the fence, setting off a wild WVC infield and video board celebration.
Wong finished 4-for-5 with four runs scored. Stelling was 4-for-5 with two RBI and a pair of runs. Ramirez and Unangst each had three of WVC's 12 RBI. Jones had a perfect three innings of relief: no runs, no hits, no walks and four K's. Grant Selig hurled the last 1 2/3 innings to earn the win.
The Vikings open Coast-South Conference action this week with a three-game series against Hartnell (7-13). Game one is set for Tuesday (3/12) at Valhalla. First pitch is 2:30pm. Game two is at Hartnell Thursday (2:30pm first pitch), while game three is at 1:00pm Saturday at Valhalla.
Tickets for both Valhalla contests are available (debit/credit cards only) at the gate or though the WVC Athletics website:
https://westvalley.prestosports.com/camps/Game_Tickets
Watch the Tuesday and Saturday livestreams on the WVC Athletics YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@westvalleycollegeathletics5398/streams