Irvington’s varsity baseball players defeat American and score a near no-hitter

By Hugo Vera

On Wednesday April 30, 2014 the Irvington High School varsity baseball team hosted the American High School Eagles in a game that produced record-setting runs and pitching for the Vikings. The first three innings remained scoreless as both teams consistently caught their opponent’s balls in the outfield and used quick reflexes to prevent each other from reaching so much as second base. Things began to escalate in the bottom of the third inning, however, as senior Cameron Cabigas scored the first run of the game. With that came three more runs for the Vikings in the fourth inning as well as an additional three hits by junior Marcello Gallegos. By the time the game ended, the Vikings had won with a 7-0 lead over American.

“Overall, it was really the third inning that got us going. Once we managed to score in the third [inning], the hits kept on turning into runs” said senior and pitcher Ryan Briscoe. “Our fast ball maneuvers kept the offense strong.”

While many of the Irvington players were elated by the 7-0 win, the highlight of this game (in terms of Irvington’s records) was the near no-hitter pitched by sophomore Michael Newman. Michael Newman was the starting pitcher for this game, and remained the Viking on the mound until American finally scored a hit in the sixth inning. For five whole innings, Newman’s pitches did nothing but strike out Eagle after Eagle. Many fouls were hit on American’s part, and Newman’s fastballs never faltered until the second-to-last inning of the game.

“Today was a huge win for the team, and that’s what matters”, summarized Newman. “When I look back on this game, I won’t say ‘This is the time I almost threw a no-hitter.’ I’ll look back on today and appreciate how far I’m come as a pitcher and improve from here.”

Irvington’s win over American puts the varsity Viking baseball team second in MVAL standings.