 |
|
|
|
Saratoga hurler Ilana Sabes tossed a two-hitter to lead the Falcons to a 9-7 win over the Pioneers last week.
Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Warriors win three of four
Sabes tosses 2-hitter in Saratoga victory
By Dick Sparrer
Jon Hennig knew going into the season that Mitty would be a tough team to beat in the Mount Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League this spring.
And the Westmont girls softball coach found out just how tough last week.
The Monarchs blanked the Warriors 2-0 last week, allowing Westmont just one hit as they ran their league record to 5-0.
But the Warriors didn't let the loss get them down. They battled back with two wins last weekend in the Mission City Tournament at Mission College in Santa Clara, running their season record to a solid 10-6.
Hennig figured his Warriors would contend with Mitty and Presentation for the division title this season, and last week's game with the Monarchs was a big one for Westmont. A win would have pushed the Warriors into a tie for first place in the division, but it wasn't to be.
Mitty scored single runs in the third and sixth off Westmont ace Lisa Chapman, and that proved the difference in the game.
Westmont had opened the week with a solid 6-1 win over Oak Grove behind a super performance by Chapman. The senior hurler tossed a one-hitter and also helped her cause at the plate with a single and a double.
Jessica Davis tripled home three runs runs for the Warriors and Jessica Parola ripped a double.
After the loss to Mitty, Westmont came back to win two games at the Mission City tourney.
Chapman whirled a one-hit shutout to lead the Warriors to a 1-0 win over Wilcox in eight innings. Chapman struck out 16 as she pushed her season pitching record to 8-4.
Chapman had two hits to lead the seven-hit attack for the Warriors. Katherine Bamford and Ashley Carrothers each doubled in the win.
Westmont had pounded Monte Vista Christian 14-0 a game earlier. Chapman fired a two-hit shutout in the five-inning game.
Davis blasted a home run and drove in two runs in the win and Bonnie Huggett singled twice to knock in three.
Jenny Brown doubled and singled twice for Westmont, and Chapman and Brittany Hennig had two hits apiece. Danielle Chapman drove in two runs.
A week earlier, Westmont had won a pair of games, beating Santa Teresa 5-0 and Piedmont Hills 5-1 in league play.
L. Chapman threw a no-hitter in the win over the Saints. She also chipped in with a couple of singles. Huggett had two hits to knock in three runs in the win. L. Chapman had another big day in the win over Piedmont Hills. She tossed a two-hitter and also doubled and singled twice to drive in two runs. Hennig singled and doubled in the win and Brown had two hits.
Westmont faces a couple of key games this week. The Warriors host Presentation on April 3, 3:30 p.m., before heading to Leland on April 5, 3:30 p.m.
Prospect, like Westmont, played in the Mission City Tournament last weekend. The Panthers opened with a 4-1 win over Santa Clara, but lost 6-1 to Presentation a game later.
Randy Gillespie tossed a six-hitter to lead the Panthers to the win over the Bruins. She also threw a six-hitter at Presentation, but was stuck with the loss. Gillespie singled twice to account for both of Prospect's hits in the game.
The Panthers split a pair of decisions in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL last week, losing a 1-0 heartbreaker to Independence before clubbing Willow Glen 6-1.
Cassie Gilford fired a one-hitter, but she was the hard-luck loser in the clash with the 76ers. Independence scored the game's only run in the bottom of the sixth. Jennifer Littlejohn had two hits for the Panthers.
Gillespie came back to whirl a three-hitter in the 6-1 win over Willow Glen. She also knocked in two runs for the Panthers.
Prospect had lost 15-3 to Pioneer a week earlier, then fought Valley Christian to a 3-3 tie in 13 innings. Littlejohn doubled and tripled to drive in two runs against the Warriors, and Brooke Madsen had two hits.
Over in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, Saratoga split a pair of games to push its record to 2-3 in the El Camino Division and to 3-10 for the year.
Junior hurler Ilana Sabes tossed a two-hitter to lead the Falcons to a 9-7 win over Cupertino to open the week.
Jessica Cohen doubled and knocked in three runs for Saratoga in the win, and sophomore Ashley Louderback ripped a double.
Cupertino jumped on top with four runs in the first, but the Falcons rallied for three in the second. The Pioneers scored a run in the bottom of the second to lead 5-3, but Saratoga unloaded for four in the sixth to go up 7-5.
The Falcons picked up two insurance runs in the seventh, and they paid off when the Pioneers scored two in the bottom of the frame, only to come up two runs short.
Things didn't go as well for the Falcons later in the week when they lost 7-1 to Lynbrook.
The Vikings, like the Pioneers two days earlier, opened the game with four runs in the first. This time, though, the Falcons couldn't battle back against the tough offerings of Lynbrook hurler Stacey Benzing.
Benzing fired a three-hitter, striking out 13 along the way, to claim the win.
Julianne Cadden singled and tripled, and Benzing ripped a pair of singles to lead the Vikings past the Falcons. Stacy Lueder doubled in a couple of runs and D.J. Sullivan ripped a double.
The Vikings, 4-0 in the division and 10-1 for the year, opened the Mission City Tournament with a tight 4-3 win over Piedmont Hills last week.
Benzing ran her season pitching record to 8-1 with the win. She struck out 11 while winging a three-hitter at the Pirates.
Benzing was also the offensive star with a two-run homer for the Vikings.
A week earlier, the Vikings blanked Gunn and Cupertino on back-to-back no-hitters by Denise Motzny and Benzing.
Motzny went the distance for the no-hitter in the 11-0 win over the Titans. She struck out nine along the way.
Motzny helped her cause at the plate with a single and a double. Cadden singled and tripled to drive in four runs in the win and Lueder tripled and singled twice.
It was Benzing whirling the no-hitter in a 10-0 five-inning win over Cupertino two days later. Motzny singled and tripled for the Vikings and Meredith Lee drove in two runs.
|
|
|
|
Saratoga, California Since 1955
