Los Gatos Weekly-Times

The Yankees won the championship in the Los Gatos Pony League this season. Members of the team included (front row, l-r) Josh Adams, Brian Cassel, Alex Anderson, John Carlson, Chris Willard and James Furlo, and (back row, l-r) coach Dom Yannoni, Steve Sweeney, Matt Bates, manager Joe Cerrito, Brandon Burke, Casey Neale and coach Doug Thorburn. Not pictured is Charlie Clark.

Neale leads Yankees to Pony League title

By Dick Sparrer

Yankees vs. Dodgers... it's a baseball rivalry for the ages.

The Yanks and Dodgers met 10 times in the World Series through the decades of the 1940s-70s, and the Yankees dominated the rivalry with eight championships.

Well, the Yankees of the Los Gatos Pony League have maintained that winning tradition. The Yankees beat the Dodgers 2-1 in the final game of the season to win the Los Gatos Pony crown.

Casey Neale was Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford all wrapped up in one uniform for the Yanks in the title-clinching victory.

Neale showed Mantle-power with a two-run homer in the first inning, and he showed Ford finesse on the mound by tossing a two-hitter for the pitching win.

Brandon Burke scored ahead of Neale in the first inning, and the two runs proved enough for the tough Yankee hurler. He struck out 13 and allowed just one run, though he did run into a bit of a jam in the sixth.

The Dodgers scored a run in the sixth and had the potential tying run on third. But they failed on their suicide-squeeze bunt attempt, and the Yanks went on to nail down the win.

Josh Levin and Gavilan Hernandez teamed to toss a six-hitter for the Dodgers in the game, and they shut out the Yankees after the first inning.

Chris Willard had two hits to lead a six-hit attack for the Yankees. Neale had the homer, Steve Sweeney doubled and Burke and Josh Adams each singled.

Alex Anderson, Matt Bates, John Carlson, Brian Cassel, James Furlo and Charlie Clark were other members of the championship team.

The title was the first for veteran Gatos Pony League manager Joe Cerrito. He has been coaching in the league for seven years.

The Yankees won the regular season championship in the league and came back to win the title in the league's season-ending tournament. They finished the year with a 17-6 record.

The Dodgers had lost their tourney opener but battled back with wins over the Giants and Pirates to earn the berth in the title game.

All-star play

The Los Gatos Pony Leaguers will not only send teams into all-star tournaments this month, but they'll host tournaments for 13- and 14-year-olds at their home diamond at Collishaw Field at Fisher Middle School.

The 13-year-olds' all-star tournament begins July 4 with games at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Fisher. There will be games at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. on Sunday. The championship game is set for July 7, 5:30 p.m., with a game on July 8, 5:30 p.m., if necessary.

Los Gatos will send two teams into the 13-year-olds' tournament.

The 14-year-olds' tourney begins July 15. Games will be played Tuesday through Friday, 5:30 p.m. each day, with four games that Saturday and three more on Sunday.

The tournament continues July 21 and 22 with the title game on July 23, 5:30 p.m. An "if necessary" game is slated for July 24.

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