Gill helps power Falcons
to easy win over Eagles

By Dick Sparrer

Saratoga baseball coach Rick Raich might have been a little worried when winless Los Altos rallied for four runs in the third inning last Tuesday.

He might have...had his Falcons not rallied for 10 runs in the top half of the frame.

Saratoga turned that 10-run third-inning rally into a 16-5 victory over the Eagles. The win was the fourth straight for the Falcons in league play, pushing their record to 6-1-1 in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Robin Gill had a big day for the Falcons in the win over the Eagles. Gill slammed a home run, a double and a single to drive in five runs to lead Saratoga to the victory.

Jim Heuther doubled and singled twice for the Falcons, and Ryan Bernard had two hits. Mike Drew doubled and drove in three runs for Saratoga, Dan Morse doubled and John Vartanian knocked in a couple of runs.

Big 6-foot-4 righthander Brett Miller was the winning pitcher for the Falcons, pushing his season record to 3-1.

The Falcons broke open a scoreless game with the 10 runs in the third. Los Altos answered right back with four in the home half of the inning, but 'Toga picked up three more in the sixth and three in the seventh.

Saratoga will be back in league action this week. The Falcons will host Lynbrook on April 6 at 3:30 p.m. before visiting a tough Gunn squad on April 8 at 3:30 p.m. at Baylands Park in Palo Alto.

Warriors fall

Westmont, meanwhile, lost its only league game last week, falling 3-2 to Oak Grove. The Warriors slipped to 3-3 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League and to 6-5 for the year.

Mike Cifelli singled and doubled, and Kyle Collins slapped a double to account for half of Westmont's six hits in the loss.

Panthers split

Prospect split a couple of games in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL, losing 7-0 to Leigh before pounding Mt. Pleasant 12-2.

Casey Macartney had three hits to drive in three runs, and Darrell Jacks singled and tripled to knock home four in Prospect's 12-2 win over the Cardinals.

Brett Bonvechio had a couple of hits to drive in two runs, and Curtis Wills had three hits.

Jason Hesenflow added two hits, and also tossed four strong innings to claim the mound win. Hesenflow, 2-1, gave up just two hits and struck out 10.

Prospect, 4-3 in the division and 7-6 for the year, lost 7-0 to Leigh to open the week. McCartney doubled for one of Prospect's two hits in the loss.

Vikings finish fourth

Monta Vista's win over Lynbrook last week determined two things: the Matadors could still play for the championship in the annual Cupertino Lion's Tournament... and the Vikings couldn't.

The Mats knocked the Vikes out of title contention early in the local tournament with a 7-1 victory to open the event.

But both teams battled back with victories a couple of days later, so both were alive on the final day of the tourney--Monta Vista playing for the championship, and Lynbrook playing for third place.

The Vikings advanced to the tournament's third-place game with a close 7-6 win over Gilroy, but lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to Live Oak to finish up fourth overall.

Kenny Ewbank doubled to lead a 6-hit attack for the Vikings in the loss to Monta Vista. The clubs were locked in a 1-1 tie through three innings before Monta Vista broke the game open with two in the fourth and three more in the fifth.

Lynbrook, 5-7-1 for the year, battled back with a 7-6 win over Gilroy. Richard Shen doubled and singled twice to drive in two runs, and Chris Geren doubled twice to knock in four runs. Ewbank singled and doubled for the Vikes.

Chris Courtney was the winning pitcher for the Vikings, who battled from behind twice to get the win.

Gilroy scored two in the second to take the lead, but the Vikes picked up three in the third. The Mustangs rallied for three in the fourth to go up 5-3, but Lynbrook answered back with four in the home half of the fourth to take the lead for good.

The Vikings went on to play for third place in the tournament, but lost 4-3 to Live Oak. Lynbrook led 2-0 after the first and 3-1 after three, but the Acorns scored a run in the fourth, then two more in the sixth to win it.

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