Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Pony teams heading toward the title game

By Dick Sparrer

It could be Los Gatos.

It could be Campbell Moreland.

Or it could possibly be both of them in the finals of the Pony Baseball Sectional tournament this week on the diamond at Fisher Middle School in Los Gatos.

The two clubs were battling it out in the finals of the winner's bracket in the double elimination tournament last weekend, and the winner of that Sunday game would advance automatically to the title game on July 23, 5:30 p.m.

Of course, the loser could also get there, but the road would be much tougher. The Sunday loser would have to win on Tuesday in the final loser's bracket game to earn a spot in the finals. Then to win the tourney title, that team would have to win Wednesday, then win an "if necessary" game the following night.

That tough road through the loser's bracket made the Sunday clash between Los Gatos and Campbell Moreland that much more critical.

The clubs had each won a pair of games to reach that winner's bracket final on Sunday. Los Gatos opened with a 15-0 win over Blossom Valley No. 2, then edged Morgan Hill No. 1 5-4. Campbell Moreland started the tourney with an 11-1 win over Los Gatos No. 2, then beat San Jose Pacific 10-3.

Casey Neale and Ben Shanker provided the power, and Shanker, Steve Chase and Gavilan Hernandez handled the pitching chores to lead Los Gatos No. 1 to the lopsided 15-0 win over Blossom Valley in the tourney opener.

Neale and Shanker blasted back-to-back home runs in the first inning. Neale ripped a second homer in the seventh inning and finished the day with four hits, including a triple and the two homers.

Shanker had a single to go with his home run, and Matt Swanson singled and doubled. Chase, Brian Edwards and Brandon Burke added two hits each, and Hernandez clubbed a double. Ryan Gagnet, Brendon Boitano, Joey Warren and Ryan Ouellet added singles.

Chase, Shanker and Hernandez teamed up to toss a two-hit shutout for the victory.

Los Gatos No. 1 pulled out a thrilling 5-4 win over Morgan Hill a game later, thanks to a long home run by Neale in the sixth inning.

The game was tied 4-4 when Neale stepped the plate in the bottom of the sixth. He launched a 390-foot home run over the center field fence to break the tie, then took the mound to shut down Morgan Hill in the seventh to claim the win.

Neale came on in relief in the fifth after Morgan Hill had rallied for four runs to tie the game. He struck out seven in his stint.

Gatos had taken the early lead with four runs in the second. Shanker tripled and Ouellet and Swanson each ripped run-scoring singles to spark the rally.

Edwards had a single to round out the five-hit attack for Los Gatos in the win.

Chase tossed three shutout innings to open the game for Gatos, striking out four.

Morgan Hill had opened with a 10-0 win over Saratoga. The 'stars from the south were to face North County in a loser's bracket game on Sunday.

North County had eliminated Los Gatos No. 2 from the tourney a day earlier with a 6-4 victory.

The clubs were locked in a 2-2 tie through five innings, but North County rallied for two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to win it.

Josh Levine singled and tripled, and Brett Bannon had two hits in the game for Los Gatos. Josh Adams, Nick McAlpine and Chris Willard also had singles for Gatos.

Los Gatos No. 2 had fallen into the loser's bracket after losing its opened 11-1 to Campbell Moreland. Levine, McAlpine and Willard combined to toss a six-hitter for the locals, but six errors proved costly for Gatos.

Michael Franchi, T.J. Halpen, Willard, McAlpine and Dusty Furtado each singled in the game for Los Gatos.

Campbell Moreland went on to blast San Jose Pacific 10-3. Pacific, which had opened with a 9-0 win over North County, was to face Saratoga on Sunday in a loser's bracket game. Saratoga came back after the loss to Morgan Hill to beat Blossom Valley 9-3.

13-year-old 'stars

The Los Gatos 13-year-old all-star team lost in the district semifinals, but it didn't mean their season was over.

The young Gatos 'stars were to compete in the Pleasant Hill Invitational Tournament for 13-year-old clubs on July 17-21. Los Gatos joined Fairfax, Pleasant Hill, El Cerrito, Concord, West Dublin, Pinole, and San Carlos in the eight-team tournament.

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