When Did It Start?
Maybe it started early, on a packed BART train, every car spilling over with royal blue, Dons faithful shoulder-to-shoulder rolling out from the East Bay. People in San Francisco glance twice at the gear, wondering and asking, “Dodgers in town?” Not even close. East Bay Blue. This is Acalanes Dons baseball.
Maybe it started later?! First pitch was listed for 5:30, but that’s just the schedule on paper. The 20th Dante Benedetti Baseball Classic didn’t really come alive until after 7, when earlier games finally cleared, and the lights took over. The delay didn’t thin the crowd; it stretched the night. By then, it was over 800 on the Dons side alone. Dons Show Up wasn’t just said; it was felt. Acalanes and Marin Catholic finally got underway under the lights, but the Dons’ presence was already everywhere. Dons, the visiting team. Wildcats, the home team. Under the lights, the tone was set immediately by senior pitcher Branson Smith. No drama, just presence. Smith took the mound in the first inning and carved through three Wildcats on strikeouts. Here we go, Dons!
Acalanes begins to move to the top of the second. Two outs, nothing urgent, then Zach Birrell slips a single through the infield like a crack in still air. Tommy Terhar follows, patient as ever, working a walk. Drew Asadorian steps in and triples down the right-field line. Birrell scores, Terhar follows, and Asadorian is already sliding into third. Dons on the board. Don fans are wild at Oracle.
Before the infield can fully process what just happened, Tyler Winkle hits another triple. This one into the center-field gap. No hesitation, just speed and direction. It splits the outfield and keeps going until Winkle is standing on third, too. Back-to-back triples, well worth the wait through the earlier game delay. Mais, oui! Jimmy Cusumano follows with a drive to center that keeps carrying like it has unfinished business, and Dylan Meany adds a single to keep things politely rolling. It’s 5–0, but it still feels like the early stages of something that hasn’t fully introduced itself yet. Well, just wait and see, folks.
It comes in the third inning. It comes gradually but decisively, until it feels like everything is happening at once. Top of the third begins almost politely. Josh Lee singles cleanly. Terhar works another walk. Two outs follow, and for a moment, it feels like the field might clear. Instead, it thickens, the Dons fans start to get louder, fans rising pitch by pitch as the inning gathers itself and the Acalanes side leans in.
Asadorian steps in, and the swing is pure contact; the ball keeps carrying. It drifts into left-center, outfielders take a step in…then another back…then they’re running into space that is no longer there. It splits the gap and rolls. Two runs score. The inning doesn’t pause. Dons are all in. Kyle Woodson takes a hit on the shoulder; two Dons on base now. Cusumano follows, and again belts it for a double. Eight for the Blue. Meany takes a walk to first. The bases fill without resistance (still two outs), occupying every available space. Cody Michlitsch lines a single through the middle. Clean. Direct. Two more runs. Then Lee comes back again and adds another RBI single to right field, circling the lineup, 11–0.
Fourth inning continues the same way: pressure without panic. Four walks, and in comes Isaac Copen with bases full and a long bomb to the outfield…over? over? A sweet sacrifice fly for more on the scoreboard. Lee is back at the plate with a double, and yup, more runs for the Dons. It is now 15 to 0.
The fifth inning closes it out. Brody Coultas, Asadorian, and Woodson are each single. Woodson’s hit knocks in two Dons. Cusumano up next, he drives one toward the left field fence. Is it over? Boy! It was a big, big one that turned into a double with a bounce over the fence, 18–0.
Defensively, nothing breaks, no errors, clean execution across the board, a clean infield and outfield calmly patrolling everything in front of them. At the center of it all is the same steady presence from the pitching staff. It started with Smith: quiet, controlled, unavoidable. Three innings, zero runs, 37 pitches, 25 strikes, he sets the tempo from the very first pitch. From there, Jackson Garbo, Austin McManoman, Brady Beeman, and Riley Gates took over and kept it sealed in the same composed fashion. Fifteen hits. Cusumano, Lee, and Asadorian with three each. Terhar on base repeatedly. Ten walks for the Blue. Winkles led the Dons in their multiple steals. Dons were hot.
So, Where Did It Start?!
It didn’t begin with hits or the scoreboard. It began with a delay, nearly two hours that should have broken the rhythm, but didn’t. Nothing loosened. Nothing drifted. Fans, friends, and family stayed put; players stayed loose, locked in. And All In never wavered. More than 800 people in blue held their ground in the stands, choosing to wait, owning the moment, waiting to see their Dons. What followed wasn’t just baseball; it was Acalanes. Eighteen runs poured out on a night that belonged entirely to the Acalanes community.
Thank you to the Dante Benedetti Baseball Foundation and the SF Giants for this San Fran-tastic experience, one to remember, for the players, students, alumni, friends, and family who made it all feel bigger than just a game.
Next up: Alhambra on Tuesday at our house (weather watch in effect), then Thursday on the road, and SRV on Saturday away.