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Padres win in the seventh--twice
By Dick Sparrer
It doesn't get much more exciting than this.
The Padres opened Los Gatos Little League major division playoffs with a pair of victories ... a pair of very exciting victories.
The Pads edged the Yankees 4-3 in extra innings when Eric McDonald belted a "walk-off" home run in the bottom of the seventh, and they came back to nip the Cubs 12-11 in extra innings when Sam Dickinson ripped a run-scoring double in the last of the seventh.
The two wins, coupled with a 9-0 A's victory over the Marlins, sets up a key game this week between the A's and Padres. The clubs will square off in the finals of the winner's bracket on June 6, 5:30 p.m., at Baggerly Field.
The A's were the regular season champions in the division, beating the Padres twice in the final week to take over first place. That left the A's as the No. 1 seed for the league playoffs.
The Padres, meanwhile, had to open up earlier against the Yankees, a 10-6 winner over the Rangers in the first round of the tournament. And the Pads were facing Yank ace Derek Thomas.
Despite striking out 15 times against Thomas, the Padres scratched out a couple of runs to lock the Yanks in a 2-2 tie through the regulation six innings.
The Yankees jumped up 3-2 in the top of the seventh when Daniel Bridges walked, Thomas singled, Bricklin Foley walked to load the bases and Riley Katolin singled home a run.
Dickinson opened the bottom of the seventh with a single for the Padres, and McDonald ended things in a hurry with a two-run homer to straightaway center field.
Charlie Denues tossed three-plus innings to get the win. Daniel Norvelle threw two-plus innings, coming on in relief of starter Jason Stein.
Thomas, who was three-for-three with a homer and a double, got the Yanks off to a strong start with a solo homer in the first.
David Pavicich singled and ultimately scored on a passed ball to tie the game 1-1 in the home half of the first, but the Yanks went back up when Zach Wicht ripped a solo homer in the third.
Denues singled and worked his way around to score on wild pitches and stolen base to tie it 2-2 in the fifth. That set the stage for the seventh inning heroics.
And there would be more of the same two days later against the Cubs. Chip Dreesman walked and raced home on Dickinson's double into the right field corner to give the Padres a 12-11 win.
The Cubs, 3-1 winners over the Pirates earlier in the week, had jumped out to an early lead with seven runs in the first. Marty Mullins blasted a two-run homer and added a two-run single in the first-inning rally. He finished the day four-for-five with a homer and double to drive in five runs.
The Padres had to battle from behind to tie it 11-11 in the sixth before winning it in the seventh, and they did it in--what else?--exciting fashion. Denues singled and stole second. Nick Elias singled to left, but left fielder K.C. Silva threw out Denues attempting to score. Brett Krouskup came through with a clutch single to drive in Elias, though, and the Padres had tied the game.
Dickinson had two hits to go with his game winning double. Denues doubled and singled twice and Stein, Pavicich and McDonald added two hits each. Norvelle tossed four shutout innings to get the win, fanning seven.
Nick Politi had four hits for the Cubs. Louis Santoro and Robbie Perry each singled in the top of the seventh, but were left stranded.
The Cubs had opened the playoffs with the 3-1 win over the Pirates. Mullins went the distance to toss a five-hitter, striking out eight and walking just one. He also started a three-run rally in the first with a walk. Santoro reached on a fielder's choice before N. Politi singled home a run and Josh Barrier doubled in two.
The Pirates scored their only run in the fourth when Dylan Burke and Mitchell Benedetti each singled and Stephen Genetti drove in a run with a ground-out.
Burke also tripled in the sixth, and Justin Shaffer had two hits.
Shaffer and Burke tossed three innings apiece for the Bucs in a 7-4 win over the Giants on Saturday.
Genetti knocked in two runs with a bases loaded double in the first, and run-scoring singles by Daniel Silva and Danny Frey sparked a three-run rally in the second.
Burke had three hits for the Pirates, and Genetti ripped a pair. Shaffer had two hits and scored four runs.
Will Kapp and Trevor Campbell cracked run-scoring singles in the first for the Giants, and A.J. Comeau singled and scored in the second.
The regular season champion A's opened the playoffs with a 9-0 win over the Marlins. Danny Sullivan tossed three shutout innings to get the win, teaming with Bret Havens, Kyle Blair and Matt Ellis to whirl a one-hitter.
The A's broke open a tight 1-0 game with eight runs in the fifth. Blair, John Gallien and Nick Kalpin each ripped two-run singles in the rally. Blair, Gallien and Stephen Stege finished the game with two hits apiece for the A's.
Derrick Fredericks fired four strong innings for the Marlins. Matt McKinley singled in the third for his club's only hit.
The Marlins had opened the tourney with a 3-2 win over the Giants. Joey Donofrio threw three shutout innings to get the win.
The Marlins scored three runs in the sixth to win it. Three walks loaded the bases before Tyler Plane reached on a three-base error, allowing all of the runs to score.
Scott Sanders, who scored the winning run, had the only hit of the game for the Marlins.
Kapp and Evan Bolton each singled for the Giants.
The Indians eliminated the Rangers from the tournament with a 4-0 win last week. Danny Brassfield and Matt Perrone tossed three innings apiece to combine for a four-hit shutout.
The Indians scored four runs in the first. Chris Keesling singled, and Chad Bannan doubled. Perrone singled home two runs and scored when Noah Henry reached on an error. Henry later scored on a passed ball.
David Martini doubled for the Indians.
Kevin Fitzhenry had two hits, and Raymond Salazar doubled. Navneet Hakhu went the distance for the Rangers, striking out 11.
The Indians had lost a 7-6 heartbreaker to the Cardinals in the first round of the tourney. The Cards scored three runs in the top of the sixth to take the lead, then held off the Indians when center fielder Kourosh Behnam made a running, sliding catch on Perrone's hard liner for the final out of the game.
The Cardinals fought back from a 6-4 deficit to pull out the win. Behnam walked in the sixth and raced home on a two-out single by Rusty Wall. Niki Chow singled, and Forrest Gallien walked to load the bases. Nick Schradle walked to force home the tying run, and Sean Wasserman singled home the run that proved the game winner.
Chow was three-for-three in the win, F. Gallien singled and doubled, and Wall and Wasserman added two hits apiece. Gallien also tossed three innings to get the win.
Perrone had two hits for the Indians.
The Yankees opened the playoffs with a 10-6 win over the Rangers. Steven Krach came on in relief to toss three shutout innings for the win.
Thomas crushed a three-run homer in the first. Foley singled and doubled twice, and Katolin and Wicht had two hits each.
Dan Langhoff had two hits for the Rangers, Hakhu ripped a two-run single, and Mark Hasson added a run-scoring hit.
The A's clinched the regular season championship with two wins over the Padres in the final week of the campaign.
The A's went into the week a game back in the standings and needed wins in both games to clinch the crown. They won the first game 6-4 to move into a first-place tie, then won 5-0 in the final game to secure the title.
Sullivan and Blair combined to toss a no-hitter in the deciding game. Sullivan struck out five over the first three innnings, and Blair completed the no-hit shutout with three innings of work.
Sullivan and Blair had tossed the A's to the 6-4 win earlier in the week. The A's scored four runs in the sixth to pull out the victory. Nick Nowak homered in the game for the A's.
Los Gatos Little League final regular season standings: A's 13-5, Cubs 12-6, Padres 12-6, Indians 11-7, Cardinals 10-8, Pirates 9-9, Yankees 9-9, Rangers 7-11, Giants 4-14, Marlins 3-15.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
