Soto’s big hit carries Foothill to baseball win over Rancho

Foothill senior Kris Soto had just one thing on his mind when he came to the plate in the third inning Friday: drive in the tying run.

Soto did better than that, hitting a two-out double to bring home three runs, and the Falcons held on for a 6-3 home win over Rancho.

“The only thing I was thinking about was I had to score this run,” Soto said. “I had to hit the ball the other way and score these runs.

And I did what I could and helped my team out.”

Rancho led 1-0 when Soto came to the plate, but his double one-hopped the right-field fence to bring home three runs and give Foothill the lead for good.

It was one of many good at-bats for Soto, who went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs.

“Kris kind of had a disappointing 2009,” Foothill coach Matt Iglitz said. “He’s been working hard in practice, and he’s been on fire to start the year. He’s really swinging it. Today in some big situations, he had some big at-bats that were kind of the difference in the game.”

Foothill flashed some defense to get out of jams in the final two innings.

Rancho had the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth when Brandon Pletsch hit a sharp grounder to third. The ball took a bad hop, but third baseman Brandon Van Stone snagged it near his left ear and raced to the bag to record the final out.

The Rams had the bases loaded again in the seventh when sophomore Dayton Kurian made a sliding catch in left field to end the game.

“One thing we’ve been focusing on this year is our defense, and it’s nice to see guys stepping up and making some plays in crucial situations,” Iglitz said.

Foothill starter Gabby Soto pitched out of trouble early. He stranded runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings, coming up with a key strikeout each time. Gabby Soto allowed two earned runs on six hits in five innings to get the win.

Kyle Moyes was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI for Foothill, which had 10 hits off Rancho ace Eric Holdren.

Pletsch, Kevin Kline, Gabe Chavira and Roy Sipes each had two hits for Rancho.