The other Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division teams undoubtedly hope the Homestead bats cool off during the Cupertino Lions Tournament, which runs through April 9.

Led by senior designated hitter Chris Bailey, the Mustangs "have been hitting up a storm," says coach Chuck Camuso. In fact, his squad has banged out 10 or more hits in six of its eight league games.

Even unbeaten league-leader Mountain View had to breathe a big sigh of relief when it overcame a 15-hit assault by the Mustangs on March 30 and escaped with a 9-5 win. Two days later, Monta Vista did not escape Homestead's 14-hit barrage.

Bailey, whose team-best league batting average is above .500, had three hits against both teams. He doubled twice, singled and drove in two runs against Mountain View. Then he belted a three-run home run and an RBI double in the 14-1 win over visiting Monta Vista.

Junior Craig Moberg and sophomore David Ostrow also had three hits against the Matadors. Among Moberg's hits were a two-run homer and a run-scoring double. Sophomore catcher Ignacio Bermudez added two hits to the attack.

Homestead led Monta Vista 4-0 after three innings, but broke the game open with seven runs in the fourth. Winning pitcher Kyle Dukes worked the first five innings.

Joey Faber slugged a game-tying, two-run homer in the fifth inning against Mountain View, but the Spartans regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Other offensive contributors have been Ricky Gross, Tim Kimball and Dan Gossard.

Gross' five RBI and junior third baseman Tim Kimball's three-hit, two-RBI effort were critical in a 13-12 win over Saratoga. Dan Gossard had a four-RBI game in an earlier win at Monta Vista, supporting pitcher Jeff Hungerford's one-hitter.

Besides the offense, Hungerford's pitching has been another constant for Homestead. In the Cupertino Lions opener, a 7-2 win over Prospect, he allowed just three hits and struck out 10.

Halfway through the El Camino season Mountain View, now 9-0, is pulling away from the pack. Saratoga, at 5-3, is in second. Homestead and Gunn have four losses, while Santa Clara, Monta Vista and Lynbrook have five.

Monta Vista recovered from the Homestead game with two well-played games. Unfortunately for the Matadors, they were unable to defeat Saratoga on April 2 in a league game or Mitty the next day in the first round of the Lions tourney.

Saratoga edged Monta Vista 3-2, despite fine pitching by Matador junior Nick Betolucci. Another Mat junior, Jason Dias, locked up in a duel with Mitty's Martin Wan, but the Monarchs won 2-0.

Dias allowed just two hits and one earned run, while striking out five, before being relieved with one out in the sixth. Wan pitched a complete-game two-hitter for the Monarchs, who made a first-inning run hold up.

Roberts sparks Lynbrook

Lynbrook won its Cupertino Lions opener, 7-5 over Hillsdale of San Mateo.

Jeremy Roberts and David Byars combined for five hits and five RBIs for the Vikings, who led 5-0 after two innings then survived Hillsdale's comeback.

After Hillsdale scored four runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to tie the game 5-5, Lynbrook added two runs in the sixth. Then winning pitcher Chris Patterson handed the ball over to reliever Mike Thurman, who earned his second save of the season.

The Vikings were coming off a pair of losses in league play, 8-3 to Gunn and 8-4 to Saratoga. John Huizar had three hits and three RBIs against Gunn, whose seven-run uprising in the seventh inning broke up a 1-1 game. Viking senior Daniel Barnett belted a solo home run against Saratoga.

'Tino takes three

After dropping their first five De Anza Division contests, the young Cupertino Pioneers needed an injection of confidence. After all, with only three seniors on the squad of 16, experience is not on their side.

"If there ever was a time to win three in a row, this was it," said first-year coach Jim Priscaro after the Pioneers beat Milpitas, Los Altos and Fremont in succession. "We really needed to believe we could win."

After beating Milpitas 5-3 to start the roll, the Pioneers went to Los Altos on March 29 and won 6-4, then edged Fremont 3-2 two days later. The streak ended on April 2 at Wilcox, where the first-place Chargers scored seven times in the second inning and sailed to a 9-5 win.

"The Los Altos game was probably the best we've played all year," said Priscaro, who coached many of the Pioneers on the frosh-soph level last season. "Los Altos' coach [Sandy Wihtol] said they have beaten themselves a few times this year, but we are the first team to beat them."

Cupertino scored all six of its runs in the first four innings, then held on. A three-run second was the Pioneers' biggest outburst. They also scored single runs in the first, third and fourth.

Left-fielder Ryan Blake, one of 12 juniors on the team, had an RBI double in the rally. Blake finished with three of his team's eight hits and two RBI.

Todd Fitzgerald pitched the first five innings, before giving way to sophomore closer Ian Pick for a two-inning save. Pick, who picked up saves in each of the Pioneers' wins, and Fitzgerald allowed seven hits against Los Altos, and they were supported by error-free defense.

Senior Justin Gandelman earned the mound decision against Fremont, evening his record at 3-3. Fremont banged out 10 hits, but mustered just single runs in the first and third. Fitzgerald, playing center field, ended one Fremont threat by throwing out the potential tying run at the plate.

Pick and Matt Ravadge had two hits apiece, including run-scoring singles.

After falling behind Wilcox 9-1, the Pioneers did score four times in the sixth inning to make the final score respectable. Fitzgerald hit for three-fourths of the cycle, lacking a home run.