On May 5, 2025, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys baseball team was pitted against their cross town rivals, St. Bonaventure (Bonnie), who had an undefeated league record of 7-0. The match signified the end of their league season, after which they will launch into their California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) postseason. From the first pitch it was slated to be a tough game, but through quality pitching, clean defense and a productive offense, Foothill Tech was able to take the win 4-1, upsetting Bonnie’s undefeated league season.
The first two innings highlighted the tension between the rivals, as no one was able to make a successful move to take the lead. Both of the teams’ pitching and defense held strong, and the score remained 0-0.
This stalemate changed in the third inning as Drayden Belitski ‘26 capitalized off of an error at short to get to first. A bunt from Grant Ready ‘26 attempted to advance Belitski but he was forced out at two. Aiden Gomez ‘25 walked and a liner from Davin Arth ‘27 advanced Ready to third but forced an out at second.
With a runner on first and third, Cooper Casey ‘27 laid a grounder down to shortstop who fumbled the ball, allowing Ready to get the first run for the Dragons, 1-0.
However the two-out rally was not over, with two runners on base. Jacory Smith ‘27 hit a tank to left-center field to bring both Arth and Casey in, increasing their lead to 3-0.
Smith spoke on his crucial at bat, stating, “I wasn’t trying to do too much, just stick with my approach, and put in some work.”
At the bottom of the third Foothill Tech kept the lead, displaying a tight defense and stellar pitching from Shane White ‘26.
White commented on his approach to pitching, saying, “I wanted to throw a lot of strikes, keep the ball low and let them put it in play to let my defense do its work.”
The fourth inning didn’t see too much action, with both sides’ defense performing routine plays to keep the other at bay.
At the top of the fifth, Ready got nailed by a pitch and took the walk to first. Grounders from both Arth and Gomez advanced Ready but led to a two out situation. Casey split the gap between short and second to bring Ready in, maintaining a lead of 4-0.
Another stalemate ensued in the fifth and sixth innings, with the Dragons unable to break through the Bonnie defense.
In the bottom of the sixth, Bonnie came very close to getting on the board but after a flyout to right field, Rainen Tolentino ‘26 threw the baseball a little over 200 feet for Arth to make a score saving tag at the plate.
After an unsuccessful offensive outing in the top of the seventh, it was up to the Dragon defense to secure the win. A liner to left center and a base hit threatened the possibility of Bonnie making a comeback. Bonnie increased this threat as they drove a liner down the right field line to bring a runner home for their first score of the game. However, their rally was quelled as Connor Nelles ‘26 relieved White after his six scoreless innings. Nelles first pitch resulted in a double play and quickly after, a liner into Cain Ebrahim’s ‘28 glove ended the game, 4-1.
Head Coach Mike Haas commented on the game overall, stating, “We wanted to be the spoiler today. They beat us the first time. They were 7-0 in league. We wanted to take away their undefeated season and we did. Today was a day unlike all others … they came out with passion and all the confidence in the world. This is a CIF winning team right here.”
Foothill Tech’s next match will be against Fillmore High School (Fillmore) on May 7, 2025 before heading into CIF playoffs where they look to go all the way.
