It must have been enough to make the Wildcats angry.

Gatos answered right back with three in the home half of the third, then scored three runs in the fourth and another one in the fifth on the road to a convincing 7-1 victory over the Pioneers.

The win helped the Wildcats improve to 7-1 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. But more importantly to head coach Brad Sanfilippo, it proved to him that his Cats are capable of battling back from adversity—namely, a 5-3 loss to Wilcox earlier in the week.

"Today was great," said Sanfilippo after the win. "It shows a lot about our character to come back from the loss like we did. I'm real happy with the way we responded."

And the Cats won it after falling behind early when the Pioneers scored the run in the top of the third.

"That was real big," said Sanfilippo of the three-run Gatos rally in the bottom of the third. "This is a game of momentum, and when they put up one and you answer with three ... "

He didn't need to say any more.

The three runs in the third were really all sophomore right hander Kyle Blair needed. He went the distance to toss a 5-hitter, striking out six and walking just one. He also hit two batters.

"This kid is just a sophomore," said Cupertino coach David Kawamoto of Blair. "He's a big kid with good velocity and a good slider."

"Los Gatos is a good team, and they have a fine program," he added. "Today we came up on the short end."

Cupertino actually drew first blood in the Friday game when junior designated hitter Matt McCormick doubled down the left field line. Blair got the next two hitters on pop flies, but Ryan Blake came through with a line drive single to left to knock in McCormick with the game's first run.

But that run seemed to wake up the Wildcats.

Senior Mark Johnson opened the home half of the third with a single up the middle and stole second. Two outs later Blair helped his own cause with a line single to right to knock in Johnson with the tying run.

But the Wildcats weren't finished yet. After Blair swiped second, Derek Thomas rolled a single up the middle to drive in a run, and he took second on the throw to the plate. Thomas moved to third on a wild pitch before Jeremy Bays walked to put runners at the corners. Michael Gault then dropped a perfect two-out bunt that he beat out for a single, driving in Thomas with the third run of the inning.

Cupertino looked like it would bounce right back when Todd Fitzgerald opened the fourth with a single to right. But Blair struck out the next hitter, then got Ali Hussain to bounce into a 5-4-3 double play. It was the first of two double-dippers for the Wildcats.

"Our defense made the commitment to be a better team," said Sanfilippo. "And if we can play defense and get the pitching we've been getting ... "

Los Gatos put the game away with three more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Justin Schafer dropped a single into right, but was tossed out attempting to steal. An out later, Michael Brienzo singled to right to start another two-out rally. Marty Mullins doubled to left before Blair ripped a two-run single to right center. Thomas followed with a double to left center to knock in the final run of the rally.

Gatos added one more in the fifth when Gault singled, stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice by Schafer and scored on a wild pitch.

Blair needed just 90 pitches to take care of the Pioneers. He threw 54 for strikes, including 15 in the seventh inning when he struck out the side.

Blair had three hits to drive in three runs in the win and Brienzo, Thomas and Gault slapped two hits each. Mullins, Bays, Thomas and Blair each doubled in the game and Schafer and Johnson had singles.

Los Gatos opened the week with the 5-3 loss to Wilcox. Mullins homered for the Cats, Brienzo doubled twice and Bays ripped a two-bagger. Thomas, Blair, Carlos Alonso and Johnson also had hits for Los Gatos.

"We made a pretty crucial error in the first inning that led to two runs for them," said Sanfilippo. "Then it was just a case of missed opportunities on our part."

The Cats will try to make the most their opportunities in three league games this week. Gatos was to open the week against Milpitas on Monday, weather permitting, and will host Mountain View on April 6, 3:30 p.m. The Cats then hit the road for Palo Alto on April 8, 3:30 p.m.

"At this point, they're all big ones," said Sanfilippo of the upcoming games.

Frosh-soph wins two

The Los Gatos frosh-soph team ran its league record to 5-1 with a pair of shutout wins last week. The young Cats whitewashed Wilcox 10-0 on a 2-hit shutout by Matt Ellis, and they blanked Cupertino 6-0 on 5-hit shutout by Joey Donofrio.

Ellis struck out eight and walked none in his gem to open the week. He also helped his cause at the plate with a single and a double.

Wes Howell singled and doubled to knock in two runs and Mitch Benedetti singled twice to drive in a pair. Andrew Gomez also doubled home two runs.

Ellis came back with two doubles to knock in three runs against Cupertino. Aaron Miller doubled home two runs and Nick Kalpin singled one home.

Donofrio struck out three and walked just one in the game, and his teammates helped him out by turning three double plays—one when third baseman Eric McDonald dove to his left to snag a line drive and threw to first to double off a runner.