Sipple tosses Quito 'stars to clutch win over Union
By Dick Sparrer
Eddie Sipple was the right guy in the right place at the right time--at least as far as the Quito Little League major division all-star team is concerned.
Because Sipple stepped up to toss a nifty four-hitter to lead Quito to an important 11-2 win over the Union Little League all-stars in an elimination game in the District 12 all-star tournament.
Quito had lost 6-1 in the first round of the tourney and needed a win last week to remain alive in the tournament it is hosting through July 18 at Rolling Hills Middle School.
Sipple kept Quito alive by going the distance to toss his four-hitter to drop Union from the tourney field.
The hurler also helped his own cause at the plate with a bases-loaded single in the first inning to key a four-run rally. Two runs scored when Joey Heinlein's ground ball to short was mishandled.
A two-out, bases-loaded hit by Alex Juull cleared the bags in the third and led to another four-run rally for Quito.
A diving catch on the warning track by center fielder Andrew Capek was a key defensive play in the Quito win, and catcher Daniel Etheredge gunned down two runners attempting to steal.
Juull ripped three hits in the Quito victory and Capek and Corey Gazay slapped two hits each.
Along with Sipple, Heinlein, Juull, Capek, Etheredge and Gazay, members of the Quito major division all-star team include Brandon Carpenter, Eric Estes, Melvin Hutcherson, Kevin Smith, Kevin Wyllie and David Yee.
Eleven-year-olds
David Messer led the offensive attack and Andrew Gomez and Nicholas Kinder handled the pitching chores to lead the Quito 11-year-old all-stars to an 8-6 win over Union.
Messer was 3-for-3 and Gomez and Kinder tossed three innings apiece in the Quito victory.
Union trailed 8-6 in the bottom of the sixth, but loaded the bags with no outs. Kinder got the next hitter to slap a comebacker, and he threw home for the force. The next batter popped one up to Nicholas Clark at second base, and Clark threw behind the runner at first for a game-ending double play.
But Quito, a loser to Cambrian in the first round of the tournament, lost 11-4 to Los Gatos last Saturday to drop out of the tourney field.
Messer, Gomez, Kinder and Clark were joined on the all-star squad by Ryan Gunther, Chris King, Jimmy LaMaack Jr., Isaac Mitchell, Oliver Phipps, Ryan Picchi, Jeff Sloan, Ryan Takaki and Shian Vidanage.
Ten-year-olds
The Quito 10-year-old all-stars opened district play with a win over American, but they lost to Cambrian Park and Almaden to drop out of the tournament.
Playing for the team were Colin Carney, Charlie Chapman, Lindsay Dickerson, Thomas Harvey, Matthew Kirwan, Thomas Nguyen, Keith Nyberg, Taylor Reddick, Kevin Rourke, B.J. Simmons, Jonathan Wahl and Matthew Williams.
Nine-year-olds
Losses to Lincoln Glen and Almaden led a quick finish for the Quito 9-year-old all-stars at the district tournament.
Members of the team included Scott Bendorf, Benjamin Collier, Michael Combs, Anthony Denevi, Stefan Eckhardt, Michael Economy, Myles Johansen, Fionn King, Drew Messer, Victor Nguyen, Greg Plauck and Allen Van Dyke.
Eight-year-olds
The Quito 8-year-old tournament lost its first three games of the District 12 tourney to Branham Hills, Willow Glen and Lincoln Glen to face early elimination.
Making up the squad were Bryan Bridgeman, Nicholas Butler, Ryan Chew, Stephen Economy, Matthew Gault, Allan Isenberg, Brett Kentera, Justin Leong, Adrian Medina, Michael Miles, Ryan Mulligan, Kyle Peck, Collin Takaki and Tyler von Richter.
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