By Dick Sparrer
Adam Crane only had a couple of hits last week for the Padres in the major division of the Los Gatos Little League.
Yeah, only a couple of hits!
Crane homered in one game and tripled in the next to lead the division-leading Padres to back-to-back wins over the Rangers, helping the Pads hold onto their unblemished record in league play.
The Padres improved to 8-0 for the year with the two wins, and it was Crane leading the effort for the Pads--but he got a little help from his friends . . . namely, Bryan Schiefelbein, Patrick Murphy, Carter Wallace and Brett Cavanagh.
Crane's solo homer in the second helped the Padres to a 9-5 win over the Rangers to open the week. Murphy single and doubled in the win, and Cavanagh slapped a double.
Schiefelbein, Murphy and Wallace tossed two inning each in the game, combining for 14 strikeouts.
Schiefelbein finished the week with 12 strikeouts in five innings of work. He fanned seven in three innings to lead the Padres to a 13-0 win over the Rangers. He also doubled twice and singled in the win.
Crane pounded a two-run triple in the first, then walked three times in the game. He scored three runs for the winners. Wallace added two hits.
David Towson was 2-for-2 for the Rangers in the loss. He had scored three runs for his club in the loss earlier in the week.
The Pirates won twice last week, but the Bucs were stung with a 4-2 loss to the last-place Yankees to open the week and slipped two games off the pace in the title race.
It was the upset of the young season when Nik Kay tossed the Yanks to the 4-2 win over the Pirates. Kay went the distance to toss a three-hitter, fanning five and walking four.
A two-run double by Jason Livingstone keyed a three-run rally in the third for the Yanks that proved the difference in the game.
Eric Brown struck out six in three innings of work for the Pirates.
Brown came back with six more K's in three innings to lead the Bucs to a 6-4 win over the Indians.
The Pirates were down 4-3 with two out in the last of the fifth. The Indians walked Brown intentionally to set up the force play, but Drew Bothman foiled the strategy with a two-run triple. He then scored on a single by Cory Graham.
David Holtzman went the distance for the Indians, striking out eight and tossing a four-hitter.
Hans Jorgenson singled and doubled and scored four times to lead the Pirates to an 11-5 win over the Indians later in the week. Bothman had two hits, and Brown fanned six more in three innings of work.
Holtzman led off the game with a single for the Indians, and that turned out to be their only hit.
The Yankees, meanwhile, split in their two games last week, beating the Cubs 7-1 after losing to the same club 5-0 a few days earlier.
Kay fanned five in three innings, and Daniel Elder tossed three shutout innings to lead the Yanks to the 7-1 win over the Cubs.
Matt Rose was 3-for-3 and scored three runs for the Yankees. Kay singled and doubled to drive in three runs, and Steven Whitham doubled.
Aaron Goldfarb and Kenny Rodrigues each doubled for the Cubs.
Goldfarb and Rodrigues each slapped run-scoring doubles in the first inning and Travis Howell tossed three perfect innings to lead the Cubs to the 5-0 win over the Yankees. Danny Politi pitched three innings of the shutout.
Howell and Politi took a combined perfect game into the sixth, but Kay broke it up with a leadoff double.
In other action, the Marlins beat the Expos twice.
Richie Brown and Patrick McDonald combined to toss a three-hitter in the Marlins' 9-2 win over the Expos. Brown ripped a pair of doubles and scored three runs, and Brandon Burks and Brett Davis had two hits apiece.
Jack Wall doubled for the Expos.
Consecutive singles by Davis, Brown and Jesse Fetke led to a seventh-inning run and a 5-4 win for the Marlins earlier in the week. Davis, Brown and Fetke had two hits each for the winners.
Ryan Daily ripped a solo homer in the first and doubled twice for the Expos. He also struck out eight in three innings of mound work. Kyle Schafer and Chris Danser doubled.
Adam Nelson and Bret Roberts struck out seven apiece to lead the A's to a 4-2 win over the Giants. Roberts singled and doubled in the win.
Ben Swartley and Andy Betzina each singled and doubled for the Giants, and Swartley tossed three innings, fanning seven.
Los Gatos Little League major division standings: Padres 8-0, Pirates 6-2, A's 4-3, Marlins 4-4, Rangers 4-4, Cubs 3-5, Expos 3-5, Indians 3-5, Giants 2-5, Yankees 2-6.
Pony League
Casey Neale of the Yankees set a new league record when he struck out 20 batters in a seven-inning game in the Los Gatos Pony League.
There are 21 outs recorded in a seven-inning game, and Neale took care of all but one with his 20-strikeout performance. He broke the old league record of 18 K's in a game.
Neale took a perfect game into the seventh inning before Chris Eagen of the Dodgers beat out an infield hit. He went on to complete the one-hit shut-out by getting the next two hitters.
The win evened the series between the two clubs. The Dodgers had beaten the Yankees 12-7 earlier in the year.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, April 23, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.