Prep baseball: San Marin’s McGrath still king of the hill against Novato

Last season’s MCAL pitcher of the year Sean McGrath is off to another awe-inspiring start for his senior campaign with the San Marin High baseball team.

“We lost a lot of good players from last year, but we have guys stepping up now,” McGrath said. “Definitely, I feel a need to lead by example. I need for us as a team to become one unit.”

McGrath struck out 11 batters and walked two during a complete game Tuesday as the Mustangs (5-2, 5-1 MCAL) ventured across town for a 6-1 victory over rival Novato. The two teams are scheduled to play again on Friday.

“The slider is my best pitch right now,” McGrath said. “I saw they were looking for the fastball early on, so I changed it up.”

McGrath gave up a double to Hornets junior Julian Oliver in the first inning, followed immediately by an RBI single from Cohen Garcia, who was thrown out trying to stretch a base hit into a double.

The Hornets  (4-4, 2-3) managed five hits against McGrath, with senior Dominic Scafani going 3 for 3.

“I’ve faced McGrath four times now (in my career) and the past three times I’ve been afraid,” Scafani admitted. “This time, I didn’t feel fear.”

Novato pitcher Griffin Vorhaus pitched a 1-2-3 first inning, but then ran into trouble against a loaded Mustangs lineup. With Tyler Keehn and Trevor Krejdovsky on base after back-to-back walks in the second inning, Mustangs sophomore Dylan Procopio drilled a grounder past first base to load the bags. That set the table for a two-out, two-run single from junior Hunter Uriarte.

Vorhaus walked the next batter to load the bases, but forced a pop fly to end the second inning without further damage. Vorhaus finished the day with five strikeouts, five walks and five hits allowed through 5.1 innings.

After a single from San Marin junior Matthew Baldino to lead off the third, the Hornets settled down to get through the third and fourth innings without allowing another hit.

But Mustangs senior Joey Cipollina cranked up the offense to lead off the top of the fifth with a 350-foot triple that bounced off the centerfield fence. Hugh Brady followed with a long sacrifice fly to score Cipollina.

Despite the cold wind blowing across the field, it was a good day for Brady, who hit a two-run single to right field in the sixth inning off Novato reliever Cash Campbell to give the Mustangs a 5-1 lead.

McGrath was having a stellar outing on the mound, but a quiet day at the plate … until the top of the seventh, when he launched a solo home run over the left-field wall. Perhaps in an effort to match his teammate, junior Connor Simpson followed with an almost identical shot, this time for a double.

“That wasn’t a very good day, not until the seventh,” McGrath joked. “That homer felt good. That was the first time this season I’ve made solid contact.”