Gator Classic: Palo Alto Scores Rare Road Walk-off
The Vikings celebrated on Sacred Heart Prep's field.
With the last minutes of daylight fading away, Palo Alto’s KangHee Cho ripped a walk-off single through the left side of the infield for a 4-3 12-inning win over the Sacred Heart Prep Gators.
The Vikings proceeded to celebrate their victory on SHP’s field as part of the 2nd Gator Classic.
Playing as the home team in SHP’s spring break tournament, Palo Alto (6-9) faced a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh, but tied the game after first baseman Carter Bader reached on a throwing error. Vincent Braga sent a pinch-hit single to right with one out, Dexter Cleveringa got the Vikings on the board with a bunt and Charlie Bates’ double scored Braga. Cleveringa scored on Henry Harding’s groundout to second, tying the game.
Had Sacred Heart Prep (5-11) not tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh, the Vikings might have been celebrating their walk-off five innings earlier. Leading 1-0 after Thomas Barton’s fifth-inning bunt single, the Gators tacked on two more on Rallin Covey’s triple and Daniel Gee’s double.
Covey, a sophomore, was exceptional on the mound for the Gators as well. He shut the Vikings out for six innings, and of the three runs he allowed in the seventh, two were unearned. He struck out seven, allowed seven hits and walked just two. His counterpart, Nate Donaker, allowed just one run over four-plus innings while striking out seven.
Both teams got excellent relief appearances as well; Connor Schmalzle was the hard-luck loser after walking Bates to open the 12th inning and giving way to Alex Feinstein. Over the prior four innings, Schmalzle struck out four and escaped a jam after loading the bases in the eighth, striking out the next two batters he faced before inducing a pop-up. Palo Alto’s William Hickey was just as impressive, striking out six and walking one over 4 2/3 innings.
Bates, the Stanford commit, ended up scoring the winning run. Henry Harding greeted Feinstein with a sac bunt, and after Bates stole third, the Gators elected to intentionally walk both Coco Vonderhaar and Zachary Thom, setting the stage for Cho’s heroics.
With the field enveloped in shadows, a scoreless 11th inning appeared to be the final frame. But after the Vikings went down on just three pitches in the bottom half, the teams were given the go-ahead to play one more.