Legends Show Resilience as Summer Season Enters Final Week
The Menlo Park Legends went 1-3 during a demanding four-game stretch, but continued to display resilience and offensive growth as the California Collegiate League season moved toward its final week. Menlo Park scored 26 runs across the four contests, earning a convincing road victory over the Alameda Merchants while coming within two runs or fewer in losses to Walnut Creek and San Luis Obispo. With five games remaining, including the final two home dates of the summer at Baylands Park, the Legends will look to finish the season with momentum.
Menlo Park opened the week with an 8-6 loss to the Walnut Creek Crawdads on July 14. After answering an early 2-0 deficit with two runs in the second, the Legends surrendered six runs in the third and fell behind 8-2. Colby Bohnen gave the club an opportunity to rally by delivering 6.1 scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts. Mason Griffin homered in the seventh, and Ryan Duron’s two-run double highlighted a three-run eighth that brought Menlo Park within two. Isaac Fendel reached base three times, drove in a run, stole two bases and scored twice, but the comeback stopped in the ninth.
Three nights later, the Legends nearly pulled off an upset against the San Luis Obispo Blues before falling 8-7. Trailing 4-1 entering the sixth, Menlo Park erupted for six runs to take a 7-4 lead. Ryder Kelly started the surge with a solo home run, Eric Altmark followed with an RBI triple and Ethan Mooser and Casey Leavitt-McGee delivered consecutive run-scoring hits. Mason Griffin drew a bases-loaded walk, and Duron was hit by a pitch to force home the sixth run of the inning. The Blues answered with four runs over the final three frames, scoring the winning run in the ninth. Despite the loss, Menlo Park struck out 12 San Luis Obispo hitters, with Noah Klube contributing three scoreless innings and Moises Reyes recording four strikeouts over two frames.
The Legends responded with one of their most complete performances of the summer, defeating Alameda 10-5 on July 18 at Chabot College. Menlo Park scored in four of the first six innings and built a commanding 10-0 advantage. Michael Aikawa opened the scoring with a two-run triple, while Casey Leavitt-McGee and Isaac Fendel each finished with two hits and two RBIs. Griffin went 3-for-6 with a double and two runs, Ryder Kelly collected two hits, two runs and an RBI, and Altmark tripled and scored twice. Vincent Braga set the tone on the mound with four scoreless innings of one-hit baseball to earn the win, and Dane LeBlanc followed with three strikeouts over four innings.
Menlo Park closed the week with an 8-3 loss at Walnut Creek. The Legends remained within striking distance for most of the afternoon and cut a 5-1 deficit to 5-3 during a two-run seventh. Duron delivered an RBI single before Fendel followed with another run-scoring hit. Griffin finished 2-for-4 with a double and two runs, while Duron added two hits and an RBI. Defensive mistakes proved costly, however, as five Legends errors contributed to three unearned runs, including two during Walnut Creek’s decisive eighth inning.
The Legends now enter their final five games of the summer beginning Tuesday, July 21, when they host Walnut Creek at 6 p.m. at Baylands Park. Menlo Park will play its final home game Wednesday, July 22, against the Sonoma Stompers at 6 p.m. The club then closes the season with road games at Sonoma on Thursday at 6:05 p.m., the San Francisco Seagulls on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. and Walnut Creek on Sunday at 4 p.m. With several young players producing at the plate and the pitching staff continuing to deliver strong individual outings, the Legends have an opportunity to close the summer on a positive note.
Fans can watch this week’s home games live on the Menlo Park Legends Livestream Network on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@legendscamps
