The Yankees, who rolled to a 17-1 record and the Cupertino American championship by averaging more than seven runs per game, could get very little rolling in the second round of the District 44 major division Tournament of Champions. Pitcher Kevin Goulette of the Los Altos Rockies saw to that.

The lanky left-hander fired a 1-hit shutout with nine strikeouts, ending the Yankees' excellent season with a 2-0 setback on June 15 at the Briarwood field in Santa Clara. The Los Altos squad went on to place second in the 13-team, single-elimination tournament, falling 3-2 to Briarwood in the title game.

After claiming a 5-4 decision against the Sunnyvale Metro Indians in a TOC opener, the Yankees managed just three base runners against the Rockies.

In the first, speedy Navneet Ramesh reached base on an infield error and Billy Zamagni earned a one-out walk. But Goulette and the Rockies retired the next 15 batters, before Ramesh legged out a slow bouncer to shortstop in the sixth inning for the Yanks' lone hit.

Zamagni, usually an outstanding catcher for the Yankees, was the pitcher in this game. He allowed solo runs in the third and fifth. He was able to pitch out of several jams, thanks to six strikeouts and a reliable defense. With Tako Takahashi at third, Evan Short at shortstop, Ramesh at second and Steve Hatton at first, the infield provided strong support. The starting outfielders--Gabe Rosales, Kip Lund and Zack Mirth--each made a key play during the first three innings. Catcher Cameron Hamadani threw out one runner trying to steal third.

The Yankees' 5-4 win over Metro's Indians was powered by Short's three-run triple in the third and Takahashi's two-run homer in the fifth. Short pitched the distance for the Yankees, fanning nine batters.

Manager Craig Morton, aided by coaches Larry Chestnutt, Fred Zamagni and Chris Hatton, led the Yankees to an 18-2 overall record. Other important team members were Noah Calhoun, Alex Sireci and Harrison Wang.

In other major TOC action, teams from Cupertino National, Tri-Cities and Serra all lost their openers. TGFS of Campbell bounced the Cupertino National Giants 12-2 and Los Altos topped Tri-Cities 11-4. Serra, after a first-round bye, lost 3-0 to Campbell. Matt Hopkins pitched well in defeat, striking out 10 batters.

Junior TOC

A nightmarish fifth inning in the final game of the District 44 junior division TOC soured the end of a very sweet season for the Diamondbacks of Serra Little League last week.

The D'Backs enjoyed a 6-1 lead over the Los Altos Giants after four innings, but poor pitching in the fifth led to eight runs and the Giants' 9-6 win in the championship game June 25 at Sunnyvale's Farrell Field.

Paul Kamradt (two-run home run), Derek Shull (two hits, two RBIs), and AJ Puziol (two hits, one RBI) staked the D'Backs to their early lead, but five walks and three hit batsmen fueled the Giants' comeback.

Earlier in the week, the Diamondbacks advanced through the eight-team, single-elimination bracket with a pair of 11-8 victories. Puziol's five hits and Kamradt's double and triple paced a 14-hit attack against the Los Altos Cardinals on June 21. Eric Chapman, Devan Ramsour and Joey Whitworth all had two hits for the D'Backs, who broke up a 6-6 tie with four runs in the sixth.

Against Moreland Black two days later, the D'Backs led 10-3 after three innings and held on. Whitworth's two hits and three RBI and Ramsour's two hits and two runs sparked the offense.

The D'Backs, after a 16-3 record in the regular season, ended 18-4 overall. Valuable contributions were provided by catcher David Orvick, Nick Kelsey, Trevor Stephens, James Osorio, Sean Lawson and Joey Cox. Jeff Kamradt was the manager, and Jeff Osorio and Steve Kelsey were coaches.

After compiling the second-best regular-season record (17-3) of the 19 District 44 junior teams, the Cupertino National Twins lost a tough first-round contest 9-8 to Moreland Black.

The Twins held leads of 3-0 and 7-6, but trailed 9-7 entering the top of the seventh. Christian Fatoohi's spanked a run-scoring double in the seventh for the Twins, who finished the game with the potential tying run at third base.

Niyand Anand and Kranti Peddada sparkled offensively for the Twins. Anand banged out three hits, scored three runs, knocked in two others and stole four bases. Peddada had two hits, three stolen bases, a run and an RBI. Adi Ravikumar and Kyle Cipres chipped in with RBI singles.

The Cupertino American Pirates also lost in the first round. The Los Altos Rockies beat the Pirates 10-8 June 20 at Miller Middle School. The Pirates finished with a 13-8 record.