The diving efforts of both right fielder Alejandro Madrid and second baseman Rex Lagman results in Madrid claiming the blooper in shallow right. (Photo: sportswurlz.com)

The Evergreen Valley baseball squad played perhaps its best game of the season on Monday afternoon as they claimed a dominating 8-0 victory over Prospect. Starter Alex Lagman and closer Cole Nicholson combined on a two-hit shutout. Nicholson was also on fire at the plate, going 3-for-3, scoring three runs, and driving in one. Robert Gonzalez and Chris Gallegos each hit a two-run double that contributed to the win. The Cougars play tomorrow at Piedmont Hills and host the Pirates on Thursday.

• Evergreen Valley's softball squad began play this weekend in the Charlie Miguel Tournament at Pioneer High School. The Lady Cougars defeated Los Gatos on Friday afternoon 6-0, but split their two games on Saturday, beating Valley Christian 1-0 and falling to San Benito 3-1. They will begin their league campaign this Thursday at Westmont.
• In a non-league match up against cross-town rival Silver Creek, the baseball team defeated the Raiders 3-2. Right fielder Alejandro Madrid broke his hitting slump with two hits and two RBIs, including the eventual game winner in the fourth inning. Alex Resendez threw four innings of three-hit ball to earn the win while Alex Lagman took over for the game's final five outs for the save.
  

• In its first league dual meet of the season, the Evergreen Valley track team defeated Willow Glen in both the varsity boys and varsity girls divisions. The girls were lead in their 102-25 victory by sophomore Jennifer Espinoza (winner of 800m and 1600m) and junior Lia Randazzo (winner in 100m and 300m hurdles). Derion Taylor won the 110m hurdles, triple jump, and set a new school record in the high jump at six feet, two inches, as the varsity boys won by the score of 81-46. The Cougars will compete at the West Valley Relays this weekend at Westmont High School.
• The Lady Cougar softball team routed Mountain View 14-2. Pitcher Bianka Molina threw a complete game two-hitter and also went 4-for-4 at the plate to drive in two runs.
  
• Both boys and girls swim teams suffered losses to a high-powered Pioneer squad on Thursday. The boys fell 127-56 while the girls were defeated 119-76. The team's next meet will be on Friday, March 27 versus Leland.
• Baseball will face non-league opponent Silver Creek on Saturday at noon.
  

Behind seven innings and only three hits allowed by starting pitcher Alejandro Madrid, the Evergreen Valley baseball team won their third consecutive game, defeating Prospect 6-1. The Cougars were highlighted by senior slugger Chris Gallegos's fifth inning hit that drove in two, catcher Mark Milioto going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, and third baseman Robert Gonzalez driving in one with a first inning double.

The second game of the two-game set against Prospect scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Prospect has been postponed until Monday, March 23.

• Behind a strong offensive effort, the Evergreen Valley baseball team defeated Lincoln 8-6 to sweep the early season two-game series. Jose Gonzalez and Chris Gallegos both homered, with Gallegos going 3-for3 with 4 RBIs and Mark Milioto hitting 2-for-3, scoring two runs and driving one in. Alex Lagman got the win and Gallegos earned the save. Evergreen will next face Prospect at the Cougar diamond on Tuesday at 3:30 PM.
• In another pitching duel, the Lady Cougars softball squad scored an early run and rode the flawless pitching of senior Bianka Molina to beat Milpitas 1-0. Ashlee Velez scored the game's sole run in the 1st, while Molina held the Trojans to three hits on nine strikeouts.
  

Lively crowds at the baseball and softball diamonds Tuesday afternoon saw both Cougar varsity squads earn victories.

• The baseball team earned a close win against league rival Lincoln. Trailing 2-1 heading into the bottom of the 6th inning, the Cougars scored four runs to gain a three run cushion. The Lions scored one run in the 7th against Evergreen's closer, but was able to hold onto the victory by the final score of 5-3. The Cougars improve to 2-1 in league play and will travel to Lincoln on Thursday for the final game of the two-game set.
• The Lady Cougars defeated 2008 CCS Division I runner-up Gilroy 1-0 in a tough non-league match-up. First baseman Lauren Clark drove in Bianka Molina, the eventual winning run, in the second inning. Molina had a gem of a pitching outing, throwing a 4-hit complete game shutout. Evergreen will face Milpitas at home tomorrow at 3:30 PM at the softball diamond.

• The track team participated in its first meet of the season at the Willow Glen Invitational. The Varsity Boys scored 65 team points, good enough for second place to Willow Glen's dominating 93 points. Seniors Jeremy Roberts and Domenic Casil went 1-2 in the 200 meter dash with times of 23.16 and 23.29, respectively, and senior Emmanual Scott placed second in the shot put with a school record throw of 44 feet, 4 inches. The boys relays also excelled. The 4x100 (Kevin Le, Jeremy Roberts, Kevin Nguyen, and Domenic Casil) finished second in 45.33 seconds and the 4x400 (Roberts, Nguyen, Casil, and Ryan Thomas) won in 3:38.35.
  
• On the Varsity Girls side, Erica Arenas was second in the 200 meter dash and third in the 100 meters, while Lia Randazzo won the 100 meter hurdles. The girls won both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays (Randazzo, Arenas, Jalisa Taylor, and Bernice Fernandez) in times of 53.10 and 4:26.75. These performances capped a team victory, as the team's 53 points just edged out Leland and Mountain View.
• The Lady Cougars softball team continued play in the Circle of Champions tournament in Salinas with two victories on Saturday. In game one vs. Pacific Grove, shortshop Janel Salanoa and second baseman Ashlee Velez each went 3-for-4 with one RBI. Bianka Molina drove in three runs while also earning the pitching victory in Evergreen's 8-3 win. The Cougars took game two against Hillsdale by the score of 7-3. Molina and Salanoa both had two RBIs as Lexi Medina scored two runs. The team will continue with round-robin games in Salinas throughout the course of the week.
• Evergreen's baseball team was blown out by Gilroy 12-2. Mark Milioto and Chris Gallegos each hit a home run to score the Cougars' lone runs.
  

The Evergreen Valley varsity baseball team opened up its league schedule on Thursday with a 5-3 victory over Mt. Pleasant. Rain fell throughout the course of the game, forcing the Cougars to play an effective brand of small ball. Freshman phenom Rex Lagman drove in two runs while his elder brother Alex threw five solid innings for the win. Senior Cole Nicholson shut down the Cardinals over the final two innings to earn the save.

Evergreen will again face Mt. Pleasant tomorrow to finish off the two game series and will travel to Gilroy on Saturday to match-off against the Mustangs in a non-league game.

Today's baseball game against Mt. Pleasant was postponed due to incliment weather. The game has been rescheduled for tomorrow (3/4) at 3:30 P.M. Also, the game was moved from EV to Mt. Pleasant but EV will still be the home team and bat last. The game was moved because the Cardinals have a better drainage system and the left field fence at EV fell down last night. The two teams will meet again on Thursday (3/5) at 3:30 P.M at Mt. Pleasant as well, weather permitting.

-On Saturday night at Milpitas High School, the Lady Cougar basketball team grinded out a 60-50 win over league-mate Santa Teresa to advance to the CCS semifinals. EV played a sloppy game with many turnovers and missed lay-ups. The Cougars main weakness, which could give them trouble in the future, was height. EV was outrebounded by a wide margin. Coach Dan Johnson urged his players to "sit" in the lane when boxing out to create space but the efforts were futile. Santa Teresa had two forwards whose wingspan allowed them to snatch rebounds out of the air and go up for an easy put-back. Despite the disparity, EV kept the game close throughout and then went on a big run to close the game. Lanyssa Fiaui and Alyssa Prudencio took over the game by attacking the hoop and creating their own shots. EV also stepped it up on the defensive end and Santa Teresa went cold. On Wednesday night, the 3rd seeded Cougars take on number 2 seed Carlmont at Milpitas High at 7:30 P.M.

-The baseball team lost to Los Altos 7-4. After Los Altos scored 2 in the top of the first, EV responded with 2 in the bottom half. Despite 5 errors, the Cougars were able to stay in the game throughout and kept the pressure on Los Altos. Chris Gallegos led the attack with three hits.

• The girls basketball team will be taking on Santa Teresa tonight at 6:15 in the quarterfinals of the CCS Division I playoffs at Milpitas High School. The sixth seeded Saints defeated Independence on Thursday night by the score of 60-44. Santa Teresa was fourth in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division this season, but lost twice to the Cougars during league play.
  
• The Lady Cougars softball team fell to Fremont 3-2 in the non-league match-up Friday. Senior shortstop Janel Salanoa led the team with an impressive 4-4 day at the plate. Evergreen will next travel to Mountain View on Wednesday for anther non-league tune-up.
• On Thursday, the baseball team earned its second consecutive win vs. San Lorenzo Valley at the Mission City Classic tournament in Santa Clara. Catcher Mark Milioto had two doubles and one RBI and senior hurler Chris Gallegos earned the win, going five innings and giving up two runs on three hits. The Cougars will play their final game of the tournament today at 1:00 PM.
  

Wednesday's headlines:

• Cougar baseball team upset A league squad Leland 10-5.
• Softball team tied traditional powerhouse Archbishop Mitty 4-4.

More details to come later.

• The Evergreen Valley baseball team fell to defending CCS Division II champions Wilcox by the score of 3-0. The Cougars were saved by a no-hitter thrown by Wilcox pitcher Andrew Herrera by a 7th inning hit by third baseman Jose Gonzalez. Junior pitcher Alex Lagman threw a solid four innings, but earned the loss for giving up all three Wilcox runs. Senior Alejandro Madrid came in relief to throw a scoreless 5th, 6th, and 7th innings.
• The Lady Cougar softball team will open up their season by hosting defending CCS Division II champs Archbishop Mitty tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 PM.
  

• The baseball game that was scheduled for this afternoon at Leland was rained out. The make-up date for this match-up will be this Wednesday, February 25. The team will also continue play at the Ted Tamone Memorial Tournament in Santa Clara this week.
  
• Coach Dan Johnson and his Lady Cougar basketball team has earned a number three seed in the CCS Division 1 playoffs. They will face the winner of Santa Teresa and Independence in the quarterfinal round this Saturday, February 28 at Milpitas High School. Time to be announced.
• The Cougar track and field squad will be opening up their season at the Willow Glen Invitational on Saturday, March 7. Entries of all Evergreen athletes will be posted here when available.
  

At the Ted Tamone Memorial Tournament at Washington Park in Santa Clara, the Evergreen Valley baseball team suffered its first loss of the season against Santa Clara High by the score of 5-0. Starting pitcher Jose Gonzalez pitched four solid innings, earning the loss despite giving up just one run in the 3rd. Santa Clara struck gold in the 5th inning with a four run rally that sealed the game. The Cougars were plagued throughout the course of the game by sloppy fielding and an impatient demeanor at the plate.

Evergreen will travel to Mt. Hamilton Division powerhouse Leland in a non-league matchup on Tuesday before continuing play in the Santa Clara tournament on Wednesday against Wilcox and Thursday versus San Lorenzo.

EV Sporting Events for the Week of 2/16-2/22

2/17 Boys Basketball v. Del Mar (JV 5;30, V 7)

Senior Night at the Cougar Den will honor the contributions of seniors Mark Miloto, Jordan Adkins, and Patrick Ngo. EV won a thriller against Del Mar on the road in mid-January.

2/18 Girls Basketball v. Silver Creek (JV 5:30, V 7)

Senior night at the Cougar Den against a hated rival. EV looks to continue cruising through league a secure a league title on its way to CCS.

2/27-2/28 CCS Wrestling Finals at Independence

Ezra Calumpit leads a class of four EV wrestlers looking to make a deep run in the tournament.

2/28 Baseball v. Santa Clara (@ Washington Park in Santa Clara) 8 P.M.

The Cougars have high expectations as they look to rebound from a tough year. This years squad is talented and a preseason scheduled chalked full of talented A-league teams will be a major test of character. Sources from other schools have indicated they believe EV has the talent to capture a league title.