By Pete Borello

Photo by Joe Hu, Town Crier

Eagles’ Jorgensen throws no-hitter

Although Mountain View High is resting near the bottom of the SCVAL De Anza Division, the softball team has shown it’s capable of beating the league’s top contenders.

The Spartans (2-6 division) last week defeated second-place St. Francis (4-2) for the second time this season. Mountain View prevailed 6-3 April 8, scoring all its runs in the sixth inning.

Sara Cutler and Peyton Paulick each had two hits for the host Spartans, who were helped by a couple of Lancer errors.

Mountain View pitcher Alyssa Robbins, a junior, went the distance to earn the win.

Spartans coach Robert Herrera said Robbins “is doing a great job” this season, despite battling a sore elbow. She enters this week with a 6-5 record.

Herrera also praised catcher Siobhan Hyde and infielders Kathleen Benetua and Sally Schonhardt, who are all batting over .300.

Senior Benetua - recently recovered from a sprained ankle - is Mountain View’s “inspirational leader,” the team’s first-year coach said.

Benetua’s younger sister, Stephanie, is also becoming a key member of the Spartans. The freshman has emerged as the squad’s No. 2 pitcher.

Stephanie is one of three freshmen on a team that also features four sophomores, three juniors and three seniors.

“They’re working hard and eager to learn, but we just have to get past the youth,” Herrera said of his inexperienced club. “The future looks good - we’ll be strong for years to come.”

As for the present, Mountain View’s three-year streak of qualifying for the Central Coast Section playoffs appears to be in jeopardy.

But Herrera isn’t ready to give up, still holding out hope that the Spartans (11-11 overall) can earn an automatic CCS berth by finishing among the division’s top three teams or at least snare an at-large berth.

“The nice thing about our league is that everyone is bumping each other off,” he said.

Two days after beating St. Francis, Mountain View got bumped off by host Santa Clara 3-1. Robbins took the loss, surrendering nine hits. The Spartans were held to three hits.

Eagles rising in division

Alyce Jorgensen not only pitched a no-hitter April 10 to lead Los Altos to a 6-4 home win over Monta Vista, but she also broke out of her hitting slump.

The sophomore slugged a three-run homer in the second inning to put Los Altos ahead 5-0 in the De Anza Division game. She also had a double in the contest and finished with three hits.

Sara Bird had three hits as well for the Eagles (4-3, 11-8), while Jennifer Herrera contributed a triple.

Monta Vista’s four runs came in the fourth, and all of them were unearned.

“It was all errors,” Eagles coach Bernie Quintero said. “Only one ball went out of the infield.”

Los Altos has been error-prone all season and Quintero said it’s the only thing keeping his team from moving to the top of the division.

“It’s just errors,” he said. “It’s catching the ball in the glove and throwing - that’s all.”

St. Francis slumping

After a 4-0 start in the De Anza Division, St. Francis has lost two straight games.

The Lancers (7-6 overall) followed their setback to Mountain View with an extra-inning loss to visiting Wilcox April 10.

The game was scoreless until the ninth, when Wilcox broke through for two runs. The lead held up, as St. Francis failed to score in the bottom of the inning.