Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Anderson's home run lifts Indians to the win

By Dick Sparrer

Jacob Anderson must have been ready to go home. The Indians were battling the Pirates in the first round of the major division tournament in the Los Gatos Little League, and Anderson was determined to end things in a hurry for the Indians.

He had come on in relief of Andrew O'Gorman in the top of the sixth to retire the final two Pirates hitters. Then he ended the game with one swing of his mighty bat in the bottom of the frame.

Anderson's solo homer to lead off the last of the sixth lifted the Indians to a tight 4-3 win over the Pirates.

The clubs had battled back and forth most of the day.

The Indians led 1-0 after the first, but the Bucs took a 3-1 lead with a three-run rally in the third. The Indians tied it with single runs in the third and fifth, and that's how it remained heading into the sixth.

O'Gorman gave way to Anderson in the top half of the frame, and he came on to close things out on the mound. Then he closed things out for good with his bat.

David Holtzman tossed the first three innings for the Indians, and O'Gorman threw 213. The two had combined to get the Indians their first run.

Holtzman singled in the first, moved to second on a passed ball and scored on a single by O'Gorman.

But the Pirates picked up three in the third. Daniel Silva walked, and Hans Jorgenson singled. J.P. Grist sacrificed to two to second and third, and Eric Brown walked to load the bases. Drew Bothman doubled home two runs, and Brown eventually scored on a double steal.

The Indians got one back in the third. Matt Perone walked, and Holtzman was hit by a pitch before getting forced by O'Gorman. The Indians scored on a double steal attempt.

A couple of errors led to the Indians game-tying run in the fifth, and Anderson broke the tie with his homer in the sixth. Bothman finished the day with two hits for the Pirates.

The regular season champion Padres opened the playoffs with a 6-3 win that knocked the Rangers out of the tournament.

Bryan Schiefelbein struck out four in three innings of work, and Carter Wallace fanned seven in three innings to lead the Padres to the victory. Schiefelbein, Wallace, Darien Hirotsu and Patrick Murphy had two hits each for the Pads. Murphy belted a key two-run homer in the third.

Tyler Doyle and Anthony Burks tossed three innings each for the Rangers in the loss.

The Rangers scored all three of their runs in one inning. Doyle singled, and Chris Dudley walked. Kyle Mathews walked to load the bags, and Tommy Towson forced home a run with a walk. Two more runs scored on wild pitches.

The Rangers had opened the playoffs with a 13-3 win over the Marlins. Doyle faced the minimum over the first three innings to get the win, and the Rangers broke the game open with an eight-run rally in the fifth.

Burks had three hits, including a pair of homers for the Rangers. Burks ripped a three-run homer in the first and hit a two-run shot in the fifth. Eric Rude cracked three hits in the win, and James Gentry and David Towson had two each.

Matt Hirakawa singled and doubled for the Marlins.

The Marlins were knocked out of the tourney in a 10-0 loss to the Giants. Ben Swartley tossed three innings of one-hit baseball to lead the Giants to the win.

Alex Rollin ripped a three-run homer in the first and finished the day with a pair of hits and three runs scored. Chad Rabello delivered a bases-loaded single in the fourth, Andy Betzina had two hits and scored three times and Matt Finelli tripled.

The Expos had beaten the Giants 6-5 to open the playoffs. Nick Nino and Kellen McBain tossed the Expos to the victory.

Rollin crushed a grand slam to key a five-run third for the Giants, but the Expos answered with five of their own in the home half of the inning. Kyle Schafer's two-run double was the big hit in the rally.

The winners broke the 5-5 tie with a run in the sixth. McBain singled and later scored on a single by Jack Wall.

Betzina ripped a triple, and Finelli and Scott Silva each doubled for the Giants.

The Expos came back with a 5-2 win over the Cubs. Nino fanned four in three innings, and Ryan Daily struck out five in three innings of work.

Daily had two hits for the Expos, Jeff Oleson singled and doubled, and Matt Martini doubled.

Danny Politi doubled in the loss for the Cubs. Brent Miller tossed three innings, and Aaron Goldfarb threw two.

The Cubs opened the tournament with wins over the Yankees and A's before losing to the Expos.

Travis Howell and Politi teamed to toss a four-hit shutout in a 3-0 win over the Yankees. Howell struck out six and allowed just one hit in his three-inning stint.

The Cubs scored the only run they really needed in the first. Jon Branch walked, Howell singled and Goldfarb singled home a run.

The Cubs added insurance runs in the third and fourth. Goldfarb singled home a second run in the third, and Kenny Rodrigues scored a run in the fourth.

Michael Robards singled and tripled in the game for the Yankees, and Brent Millen doubled. Nik Kay tossed three strong innings, striking out four.

Howell and Politi flipped three innings apiece in a combined one-hitter in a tight 3-2 win over the A's. Howell struck out seven in three innings.

Howell doubled and ended up scoring the Cubs' first run on a ground out by Goldfarb in the fourth.

The Cubs picked up two more runs in the fifth. Tyler Carnathan and Spencer Maltbie each walked and scored on a ground outs by Politi and Howell.

Adam Nelson's solo homer in the first was the only hit for the A's. Nelson also threw three shutout innings for the A's, striking out six. Bret Roberts fanned six in his mound stint for the A's.

The Yankees knocked the Pirates out of the tourney with a tight 4-3 victory. Kay fired three scoreless innings for the Yanks, and Daniel Elder pitched the last three.

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