Anaheim, CA — Life is a varied experience. One day all is a breeze. It seems like there is nothing beyond your reach. Everything you attempt is done in ease. The next day, you must scratch and claw for everything you get. Baseball is a lot like life. On Monday, the Kennedy Fighting Irish blasted their way to a 23-4 victory over Wilsonville. It seemed like, even if they tried, they could not help but score. There was not an inning that did not see them scampering across the plate. The very next night, against Montclair, it was a different story. They managed to score only one run for 6 innings. In the seventh, they tallied one more time and then held on for a 2-1 nail-biter win to move their record to 11-5. What was common between the two wins was the strong performance on the mound. This time it was Johnny Soto’s turn to take the ball and turn in an outstanding effort. In 5 innings he did not allow a run, limiting the Cavaliers to only three hits while striking out three. The most trouble for him came in the 5th inning when Rafael Lopez ripped a one out triple to deep right center. But the Kennedy defense took over as Jaelyn Edds made a leaping catch of a line drive destined for right field and Chase Leonard threw out the final runner of the inning. Kennedy’s first run came in the second inning when Sebastian McSherry led off with an impressive blast to the wall in deep left center. Tyler Beckler then ripped a solid single to left and the Irish were on top 1-0. McSherry, who has often been pitched around this year, showed why opposing pitchers try to avoid him, swinging the bat well throughout the night and adding a second hit in his second plate appearance in the fourth before being watched intentionally in the fifth. The Irish bats were not quiet, collecting 9 hits in the game. But they had difficulty getting the runners home, leaving 7 runners stranded and having another 5 thrown out on the base paths. The game was still 1-0 in the top of the seventh when Leonard led off with a double to right center and then was balked to third. With one out, Soto lifted a fly ball to deep left which easily brought the run home. That set up what would be a harrowing bottom of the seventh. A walk, an error and a hit batter loaded the bases for Montclair with no outs. Albert Munoz, who had relieved Soto in the sixth, then buckled down and did some clutch pitching. He forced a groundball to short enabling Leonard and Edds to turn a very nice double play, putting the Irish within one out of victory but allowing the run to score and the tying run to third. Munoz then got Justin Soto to fly out to Johnny Soto in right for the final out and the victory. As was mentioned, Kennedy continued the strong hitting that has characterized their last few games. In addition to McSherry’s 2-3, Leonard’s 3-4, and Beckler’s RBI single in the second, Munoz, Soto, and Wyatt Johnson also hit safely. The Irish are playing good ball right now and are exhibiting good chemistry with many different players making significant contributions. They return to action Wednesday at the Kennedy field, taking on Tesoro High School from Rancho Santa Margarita in a 3pm game.