Undefeated entering the week, the Milpitas High varsity badminton team, 7-0 overall, was scheduled to travel to Los Gatos High School yesterday, with three consecutive matches at home coming up — May 5 against Mountain View, May 7 against Homestead High School and May 12 against Fremont High School.
Last Thursday at home against Santa Clara High School, the Trojans’ varsity squad won 26-4 and the junior varsity team, 6-1 overall, won 13-2.
In a makeup match on the road last Wednesday at Homestead, due to the April 9 bomb threat at Milpitas High, varsity won 16-14 and junior varsity won 12-3.
At Fremont High School last Tuesday, varsity won 23-7 and junior varsity won 15-0. On April 16 at Mountain View, varsity won 20-10 and junior varsity won 12-3.
Despite varsity having an undefeated season so far and junior varsity having suffered only one loss, Milpitas plays in the lower El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, coach Larry Chan said.
“I am in no way taking away from all the hard work all the players put in and each individual’s talent, however, once league finals come around we will be facing the De Anza league schools as well. Those schools are much tougher and our kids need to be mentally and physically prepared for that,” Chan said.
Standout singles players include sophomore Andrew Tran and junior Alice Lai.
“Although they (Tran and Lai) play singles during the regular season, they are going to play mixed (doubles) together for league finals and hopefully make it to CCS (Central Coast Section),” Chan said.
In girls doubles, senior Aliza Truong and junior Nina Quach have a shot at CCS during league finals, Chan said.
Regular season winds down for baseball, playoffs next week
Although the Milpitas High boys varsity baseball team, 14-8-1 overall, 6-5-1 in league, lost 7-4 last Wednesday at Palo Alto High School, its slumbering offense showed signs of waking up in the first of two matchups last week against the Vikings, coach Chuy Zamudio said.
“The positive was that we had 10 hits so hopefully the bats are back,” he said.
Palo Alto led 7-1 going into the seventh inning. Senior pitcher James Santos took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in three innings. Seniors Miguel Gonzalez, Roderick Jones and Dareon Lopez each had two hits.
On Friday at home, the Trojans led 7-1 going into the sixth inning before Palo Alto rallied for four runs in the sixth and two runs in the seventh to force extra innings.
“We once again had the bats going,” Zamudio said.
The game, which ended in a 7-7 tie due to darkness, was set to continue Tuesday in the top of the 12th inning.
In the last two games of the regular season, Milpitas was scheduled to play Wednesday at Wilcox High School and hosts Wilcox today (May 1) which is Senior Day for the Trojans.
Round one of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division Tournament is scheduled to begin May 5. Seeding will be determined this weekend, Zamudio said. Milpitas will be seeded third, fourth or fifth, he said.
Win streak snapped for softball
After having its season-long four game winning streak snapped last week at Los Gatos High School, the Milpitas High varsity softball team posted a shutout win at Oak Grove High School. The Lady Trojans entered this week with a record of 10-10 overall, 2-4 in league, with games Tuesday at Saratoga High School and yesterday against Homestead High School.
Last Wednesday at Oak Grove, freshman Jordyn Smith scored on a passed ball in the seventh inning to give Milpitas a 1-0 lead. Later that inning, the Lady Trojans scored two runs on a triple by senior Sarina Bolden.
In the 3-0 win, junior pitcher Shaye Felix allowed five hits and struck out five Eagles batters in the complete game victory.
At Los Gatos High last Tuesday, Milpitas led 5-3 going into the bottom of the fifth inning. The Wildcats scored five runs in the frame and held on to win 8-5.
Bolden finished the game with three RBIs on two hits, a two-run home run in the first inning and a single in the third inning.
Milpitas took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Bolden’s home run scored junior Gwyneth Savella-Dye, who reached on a double.
“Felix, Savella-Dye and Bolden really did great this week,” coach Brittney Gutierrez said. “Felix is a strong competitor on the mound and her drop ball that she’s been working on for months is finally coming together and is very effective. Savella-Dye has a whole new level of confidence this year at the plate. Stepping up to play shortstop, she has truly taken a leadership role for the team. Bolden’s work ethic and enthusiasm for the game is something that her teammates feed off of and is a huge part of our team’s success. I’m excited for the week ahead as we will have two league games against Saratoga and Homestead.”
Golf finishes tough season with a win
Ending the season on a high note, Milpitas High’s golf team posted its first win of the season last Tuesday against Washington High School of Fremont at Sunol Valley Golf Course.
Milpitas’ score of 245 came in eight strokes fewer than Washington’s 253.
The Trojans’ top three players by average stroke counts per round were: junior Vivian Lam, 44, sophomore Casey Santiago, 45, and junior Shawn Santiago, 45.
Last Monday at Summitpointe Golf Course, Milpitas lost 285-232 to Irvington High School in the home finale for the Trojans.
The Trojans’ top three players by average stroke counts per round were: Casey Santiago, 49, Lam, 55, and Shawn Santiago, 61.
Casey Santiago is the team’s lone participant at this week’s Santa Clara Valley Athletic League Tournament at Santa Teresa Golf Course.
Tennis ends season with loss to Fremont
A 5-2 loss at Fremont High School last Thursday concluded the regular season for the Milpitas High varsity boys tennis team, 4-13 overall, 2-10 in league.
“I am very proud of all my players and saw as each player developed over the season,” coach Bill Conley said.
Junior captain Dillon Lam recorded his 12th consecutive win and he took second place in the league’s regular seeding, Conley said. Also, juniors Jacky Tran and B.T. Nguyen had their first wins of the season.
Players qualified for postseason league individual and doubles tournaments include Lam, sophomore Timmy Phan and seniors Tyler Phan and Augustine Nguyen.
Boys swim team beats Santa Clara High
At home against Santa Clara High School last Friday, the Milpitas High varsity boys swim team won 150-65. In a close score, the frosh/soph boys lost 83-79.
On the girls side, varsity lost 125-44 and junior varsity lost 113-51.
The regular season finale at home, Senior Day, against Cupertino High School is scheduled today (May 1).
Track and field to host Mountain View
After a bye week last week, Milpitas was scheduled to host Mountain View High School yesterday.