Kuhny tosses no-hitter for Westmont

Two more baseball wins for Prospect

By Dick Sparrer

Young pitchers had Westmont girls softball coach Jon Hennig a bit concerned heading into the 2002 spring season.

Sure, the Warriors boast a solid line-up, led by returning all-leaguers Jennifer Brown, Bonnie Huggett and Katherine Bamford. But Westmont was going to have to count on freshmen hurlers Breanna Kuhny and Allyson Carrothers to lead the pitching corps.

Well, Hennig isn't so worried anymore.

Kuhny and Carrothers both came through with solid performances last week, even though the Warriors could manage just a split in two games in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

Kuhny got the win for the Warriors, and it was a masterpiece. The freshman pitcher whirled a no-hitter to lead Westmont to a 5-0 win over Piedmont Hills. The win pushed her record to 2-0 for the year.

Brown homered and singled and Kyle Soden doubled twice to lead a nine-hit attack for the Warriors. Victoria Alexander chipped in with two hits in the win and Bamford doubled.

The Warriors, 2-2 in the division and 8-6 for the year, lost 3-1 to powerhouse Mitty a couple of days later, despite a solid pitching performance by Carrothers. The freshman allowed single runs in the third, fifth and sixth, but Westmont could manage just one run and five hits against the title-favored Monarchs.

Bamford singled and tripled to lead the Westmont assault and Danielle Chapman doubled.

In other local action last week, Prospect rolled to wins over Independence and Pioneer to push its record to 3-1 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL and to 5-4 for the year.

Randi Gillespie flipped a five-hitter to lift the Panthers to the win over the Mustangs. Gillespie gave up single runs in the third and sixth to fall behind 2-0, but Prospect fought back with a run in the bottom of the sixth and two in the seventh to win it.

Stephanie Nichols cracked a double to lead a six-hit effort for the Panthers.

Gillespie, 2-1 for the year, teamed with Jamie Ann Rodriguez to toss the Panthers to the 5-3 win over Independence. Gillespie was the winning pitcher and Rodriguez came on in relief to get the save.

Cassie Gilford belted a three-run homer in the first and Alex Harkins added a two-run triple in the third to lead the Panthers to the win.

Gilford finished with two hits for Prospect, and Harkins and Nichols each tripled.

Over in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, the Saratoga girls won a pair of games last week, blanking Cupertino 3-0 and edging Homestead 5-4.

Senior hurler Bonnie Craven tossed shutout to lead the Falcons to the 3-0 win over the Pioneers. Craven, who pushed her pitching record to 4-1 with the win, scattered four hits in the game.

Senior Jennifer King ripped two hits for the Falcons.

Saratoga gave Craven all the support she needed with two runs in the fourth. The Falcons added an insurance run in the seventh.

Saratoga pushed its division record to 3-1 and its overall mark to 7-4 with a 5-4 extra inning win over Homestead later in the week. The lost left the Mustangs 3-1 and tied for first place in the division with the Falcons.

Craven and Randi Oakes ripped four hits apiece for Saratoga in the win. Oakes drove in two runs and was the winning pitcher, evening her record at 3-3.

The Mustangs jumped out to an early lead with a run in the first and two more in the second. Saratoga picked up a run in the fifth, but Homestead answered with a single marker in the top of the sixth to lead 4-1.

But Saratoga rallied for two in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 4-3, then tied it with a run in the seventh to force the game to extra innings. The Falcons won it with a run in the bottom of the eighth.

Baseball

The Prospect baseball team rolled to two more wins last week in Santa Teresa Division play, beating Piedmont Hills 8-4 and blanking Pioneer 10-0.

It was the battle for first place when the Panthers and Pirates collided early last week. Piedmont topped the circuit at 4-0-1, with Prospect just a half game back at 4-1.

But Steve Vidal went the distance to toss a seven-hitter and Kyle Bonvechio provided the firepower at the plate with a home run and a single to knock in three runs to lead the Panthers to the 8-4 win.

Vidal, who struck out seven and ran his record to 4-0 with the win, blanked the Pirates over the first four frames and took a 4-0 lead into the fifth. Piedmont picked up two runs, but Prospect answered back with four in the sixth to go up 8-2. Piedmont added a couple of runs in the seventh, but it was too little too late for the Pirates.

Kevin McPeck singled twice to drive in two runs for Prospect in the win and Andrew Meade singled and doubled.

Aaron Jacks flipped a two-hit shutout and Prospect unloaded for 12 hits in the 10-0 win over Pioneer two days later. Jacks, who fanned seven, evened his mound record at 1-1.

Meade, McPeck, Nick Graydon and J.D. Mazzuca each singled and doubled for the Panthers in the win. Graydon, Mazzuca and McPeck knocked in two runs each.

Prospect is now 6-1 in the division and 7-4 for the year.

In the Mt. Hamilton Division, Westmont slipped to 1-4-1 after a 5-2 loss to Leland. The Warriors are 5-7-1 for the year. Mike Gorski had two hits and Matt Mills doubled in the game for Westmont.

Saratoga, meanwhile, split last week in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL. After losing 18-0 to Wilcox, the Falcons fought back for a 5-1 win over Gunn.

Buck Wright tripled home two runs in a five-run third to lead the Falcons to the win over the Titans. Justin Oliver tossed a three-hitter for the win, pushing his mound record to 2-1. Saratoga is now 2-5 in the division.

Photo: The Easter Bunny visits Saratoga Elementary School

Commentary: Pledging allegiance, over and over again

Photo: Argonaut Elementary School's Math Fun Day

Local Home Sales Listings

Aegis Gallery presents exhibit of light-hearted work

Saratoga Sampler

Sports Briefs

High school softball & baseball

Sign-ups for youth sports camps