Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Cubs win a pair, chasing Yanks in race for second

By Dick Sparrer

The Cubs can't win the regular season title in the major division of the Los Gatos Little League--it seems the Pirates beat them to it.

But the Cubs could finish second. And that could prove just as important when the league hosts its season-ending tournament starting next week.

The top-two teams in the division earn first-round byes in the league tourney. Right now, the Pirates have clinched one of the byes, and the Cubs and Yankees are vying for the other.

The two clubs will decide second place this week when they meet in a pair of games--May 27 at 5 p.m. and May 30 at 3:45 p.m.--at Baggerly Field at Blossom Hill Park.

The Cubs enter the final week of the regular season trailing the Yanks by two games and need to win both of them to force a second-place tie.

The Cubbies gave themselves a shot at second with a couple of thrilling one-run wins over the Marlins last week. The Cubs opened the week with a tight 5-4 win over the Marlins, then backed that up with a 3-2 victory in seven innings on Saturday.

Nick Polliti beat out an infield single with the bags loaded in the seventh to drive in the winning run for the Cubs in the 3-2 victory over the Marlins on Saturday.

Russell Laubach's two-run double in the third had given the Marlins a 2-0 lead, but the Cubs tied it in the fourth.

Louis Santoro and Marty Mullins each walked before N. Polliti singled home a run. Jordan Senner followed with a hit to drive in the game-tying run.

Danny Polliti, Senner and Ryan Presley combined to toss a two-hitter for the win. Laubach threw six strong innings for the Marlins.

Kenny Rodrigues singled and tripled, Sean Fetke had two hits and D. Polliti doubled and belted a sacrifice fly to lead the Cubs to the 5-4 win over the Marlins. Senner flipped three no-hit innings in the win.

Patrick McDonald doubled home a run for the Marlins and Mark Ericson ripped a double.

The Pirates added three more wins to their perfect season record last week. The Bucs opened the week with a lopsided 14-3 win over the Expos, then they blanked the A's twice, 6-0 and 7-0.

Cory Graham and J.P. Grist combined to toss a four-hitter in the win over the Expos. Graham struck out five in three innings of work and Grist fanned four in two innings.

The Expos had plenty of trouble with the top three hitters in the Pirates' lineup. Logan Schafer, Matt Seymour and Grist combined to go eight-for-11, and they were on base a combined 11 times.

The Pirates broke the game open with five runs in the second. Seymour ripped a two-run double, Grist singled home a run and Graham blasted a two-run homer.

Seymour doubled and singled twice to knock in three runs and he also scored four runs. Grist doubled twice and singled to drive in three runs and he scored three. Schafer had two hits and two walks and Charlie Self ripped a two-run double in the fourth.

Matt Martini singled and doubled and Marc Helleboid doubled for the Expos.

The Pirates exploded for six runs in the first and that was more than enough for hurlers Grist and Self later in the week against the A's. Grist fanned 14 and allowed just three hits in five shutout innings, and Self blanked the A's in the sixth.

Graham's two-run triple, a runs-scoring single by Self and a run-scoring double by Adam Hudson helped the Pirates rally for six in the first.

Jesse Barron came on in the second as a relief pitcher for the A's, and he quieted the Pirate bats. Barron allowed no runs and no hits in three innings of relief.

Graham went the distance to flip a two-hit shutout in the Pirates' 7-0 win over the A's on Saturday. Graham, who fanned 13 and walked just one, took a perfect game into the fourth before Nick Ibarra broke it up with a single to right. Wes Piper also singled for the A's.

Grist had two doubles for the Pirates and Schafer and Seymour each singled and doubled.

Jason Livingstone and Derek Thomas combined to toss a four-hitter for the Yankees in a 3-1 win over the Padres. Emerson DiNapoli singled in a two-run rally in the fourth that proved the difference in the game.

Nick Guedenet was three-for-three with a double to lead the Padres. He also threw three strong innings.

The Indians beat the Rangers twice, but one game was much tougher than the other. The Indians pounded the Rangers 14-1 to open the week, then won 11-10 in seven innings on Saturday.

Nick Perrone tossed three scoreless innings and David Holtzman fanned eight in the final three frames to lead the Indians to the 14-1 win.

Holtzman doubled twice and singled in the win, Greg Bridges ripped two doubles and B.J. Lawler had two hits.

Holtzman had three more hits, including a ground-rule double in a big three-run seventh, to lead the Indians to the 11-10 win. Matt Miguel singled and doubled, Lawler had two hits and N. Perrone doubled. Matt Perrone, Holtzman and N. Perrone each scored runs in the seventh for the Indians.

Hits by Daniel Searles, Vincent Bellotti, Navneet Askin and Tommy Towson had helped the Rangers rally for two in the top of the seventh to take a 10-8 lead, but the Indians came back with three in the home half of the frame to win it.

Josh Miceli and Kyle Berglund had two hits apiece for the Rangers.

The Expos and Giants split a pair of games.

Chris Keesling walked and scored on a single by Forrest Gallien in the last of the sixth to break a 9-9 tie and give the Expos a 10-9 win.

Gallien was three-for-three, Jack Wall singled and ripped a bases-loaded triple in the fourth, and Helleboid doubled and belted a run-scoring single that tied the game in the fifth.

Chad Rabello singled and cracked a two-run double in the fourth for the Giants. Scott Silva had two hits and Mark Hansen doubled.

Erik Rollin tossed three strong innings and Rabello singled and doubled to drive in two runs to lead the Giants past the Expos 3-1 on Saturday. Andrew Milman also had a run-scoring single in the win.

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