By Dick Sparrer
Court Showerman needed some help.
The senior right-hander was throwing zeroes at Monta Vista, but he was running out of time.
He had a shutout through the regulation seven innings, but hit teammates had yet to get him a run.
He blanked the Matadors in the eighth and ninth, but still the Wildcats couldn't score.
It was 0-0 through nine innings before lead-off hitter Joel Gremore decided to take matters into his own hands... or was it his legs?
Gremore drew a lead-off walk in the 10th, his fourth base on balls of the day, to put the potential go-ahead run on first.
When Gatos failed to bunt him over, Gremore took charge himself and stole second base.
Luke Alvarado followed by lifting a short fly to right, but Gremore decided it was deep enough to make a run at third.
The speedster took off with the catch. The right-fielder made the grab and fired to his cut-off man. But just when it appeared that Monta Vista might have a play on Gremore at third, the infielder's relay throw got away at third. Gremore turned the corner and raced home with the only run Showerman would need.
Showerman put down the Matadors in the 10th to complete the shutout and pick up his fourth win of the year in five decisions.
The Gatos ace threw just 91 pitches in the game, 64 for strikes. He struck out seven and walked just three while scattering seven hits.
Sophomore catcher Brandon Fennema led a six-hit attack for the Cats with a pair of singles, and Alvarado ripped a double. Showerman, Ryan Baldinger and Nicolaas Van Biene each singled.
But it was the defense of Baldinger and Fennema that turned out to be more important than their offense.
Monta Vista opened the ninth with a double and the two-bagger, followed with a single down the left field line.
Baldinger hustled over to retrieve the baseball as the Monta Vista base-runner turned the corner and headed for home.
"He threw a rocket shot to the plate to throw him out," said Los Gatos coach Wayne Senini of Baldinger. "And Fennema made a nice tag at the plate.
"So instead of having runners on first and third and no outs, they had a guy at second with one out."
Showerman pitched out of the jam, and Los Gatos answered with a run in the 10th to win it.
Los Gatos had threatened in the first when Gremore walked and Showerman singled. But a shot by Alvarado was turned into a double play to quiet the threat.
The Cats threatened again in the second. Fennema singled but was forced at second by Sean Haley. Van Biene singled and the runners moved to second and third on a wild pitch. But a strikeout ended the inning.
But things turned sour later in the week for the Wildcats, who were blanked a no-hitter by Palo Alto.
Los Gatos lost 7-0 to the Vikings and sent just 22 batters to the plate, one over minimum. Only a fourth-inning walk to Gremore broke up the perfect game for Paly.
"He threw a good game," said Senini of the Paly hurler. "He had us all the way."
Los Gatos hitters struck out 10 times in the loss.
The Wildcats, 4-8 in the division, will take a break from league action when they host Oak Grove on May 7, 3:30 p.m., in a nonleague game. The Cats return to league play on May 9, 3:30 p.m., at home against Milpitas.
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This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, May 7, 1997.
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