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Experience should help Mustangs
All-league returners Mullins, Kidd lead Homestead's attack
By DICK SPARRER
It's great when a high school baseball team can start a season with experience on its side.
And Chuck Camuso and his Homestead baseball team have plenty of it this spring.
The veteran coach welcomes back eight returning varsity players this season, including comeback senior all-leaguers Gary Mullins and Chris Kidd, as the Mustangs chase a pennant in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
Mullins is back at catcher after winning all-league first-team honors last season, and Kidd returns to his post in left field after picking up a second-team all-league spot a year ago.
Joining the two as Homestead returners are infielders Matt Whiteman at first, Bryan Silverman at second and Robbie Hoffman at third, center fielder Brandon Dougherty and pitchers Israel Trujillo and Anthony Torres. Silverman and Dougherty are juniors, and the others are seniors.
Juniors Brian Maihack and Bryan Beres and sophomores Tim Strombel and Brian McGee are all new to the varsity and expected to play key roles. Maihack is the starting shortstop with Beres starting in right. Maihack, Strombel and McGee will join Trujillo and Torres on the pitching staff.
The Mustangs, who last won a league crown in 1996, are coming off a 14-13 season and have won two of six games to open the 2001 season. They are 2-1 in division play.
Strombel tossed the Mustangs to a 5-3 win over Lynbrook in El Camino action last week.
Dougherty singled and doubled to lead an eight-hit Homestead attack. Beres tripled home a couple of runs for the Mustangs.
Eric Barnes and Amir Tahsini had two hits apiece for the Vikings and Brian Seip doubled.
The Vikings scored a run in the first and two in the second to take an early 3-0 lead. But the Mustangs tied it with three in the third, then pulled in front 5-3 with two more runs in the sixth.
The Mustangs had opened the week by dropping a 2-0 decision to Santa Clara. Torres was tagged with the tough loss despite giving up just two runs on four hits. The Bruins scored singles runs in the second and sixth to clinch the win.
Homestead opened the league season with a tight 3-2 win over Los Altos in eight innings. Trujillo picked up the mound win for the Mustangs.
Hoffman sparked a 10-hit assault with three hits for Homestead. Dougherty and Mullins ripped two hits apiece and Kidd clubbed a triple.
Earlier that week, Homestead lost 12-5 to Gunn in the Blossom Hill Tournament. Beres had two hits for the Mustangs and Trujillo doubled.
Homestead will visit Mountain View for a 3:30 p.m. game on March 13 before facing a Thursday bye. The Mustangs will be back in action at Fremont on March 20, 3:30 p.m.
Lynbrook, now 0-1 in league play, opened the season with a split against Yerba Buena and James Lick in nonleague play.
Seip tossed a five-hitter to lead the Vikes to a 4-1 win over Yerba Buena. Tahsini singled and doubled in the win and Ryan Hummel doubled.
Barnes singled and tripled, but the Vikings lost 1-0 to the Comets.
In other local action last week, Cupertino rolled to back-to-back wins over Monta Vista and Los Gatos in De Anza Division play.
Jeff Almendarez hammered three hits to drive in two runs to lead the Pioneers to a 10-2 win over the Wildcats.
Matt Meneses singled and doubled to knock in four runs, and Scott Roche doubled. Roche was also the winning pitcher, running his record to 3-0. The Pioneers are now 2-0 in league play and 5-2 for the year.
Cupertino scored three runs in the third against the Cats, then broke the game open with a six-run fourth.
Doubles by Roche and Josh Haberman drove the Pioneers to a 4-1 win over Monta Vista to open the week.
Blake Bridges doubled in the loss for the Matadors.
A week earlier, Roche tossed a one-hit shutout and Meneses had three hits to plate four runs in Cupertino's 9-0 nonleague win over Aragon.
Monta Vista, meanwhile, had opened the league season with a 17-2 loss to title-favorite Wilcox. Daryl Griffin doubled to account for one of Monta Vista's two hits.
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
