Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Prospect's Nevin Morris posted a win at No. 1 singles, but the Panthers lost 5-2 to Willow Glen.
Warriors knock off Del Mar
Prospect boys, girls lead division races
By Dick Sparrer
There weren't many hits when a couple of local baseball teams went at it in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League last week.
But there were plenty of runs, and Westmont had them all.
Westmont pulled out a 10-0 win over Del Mar in the battle of the two winless teams in the Mt. Hamilton Division. The Warriors took advantage of three hits and three Del Mar errors to claim their first league win.
But it was the performance of 6-foot-2 senior right hander Tony LaVista that was the real difference in the game. LaVista fired a one-hit shutout to help the Warriors to the victory. The hurler pushed his season mound record to 4-3 with the win.
Westmont scored single runs in the first and second against the Dons, then broke the game open with a five-run rally in the third. Westmont added three more runs in the fourth, then won the game in five innings on the 10-run rule.
The Warriors, 1-5 in the division and 6-10-1 for the year, found themselves on the other end of a shutout later in the week. Westmont could manage just two hits in a 7-0 nonleague loss to St. Francis.
Over in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL, Prospect split a pair of games last week, but the Panthers still hang on to first place in the league race.
Prospect, 9-2 in league play and 10-5 for the year, lost 2-0 to Silver Creek but battled back to beat Piedmont Hills 7-4.
Chris Hesenflow flipped a four-hitter, but he was tagged with the tough loss. The Panthers could manage just two hits and were blanked by Silver Creek ace Kevin Rose.
But the Panthers battled back to pound Piedmont later in the week. Nick Vidal was the winning pitcher for Prospect, and Curtis Wills came on to get the save. Vidal, now 3-2 for the year, struck out eight in his stint.
David Stuble and Mark Bonvecchio ripped two hits apiece for Prospect in the win, and Vidal and Hesenflow each doubled. Hesenflow and J. D. Mazzuca knocked in two runs apiece in the win.
In Santa Clara Valley Athletic League play last week, both Saratoga and Lynbrook won big in different divisions.
The Falcons rolled to a 21-11 win over Milpitas in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL.
Mike Cook had a huge day with two home runs and two doubles to drive in five runs, and Matt Joyce homered and singled twice to knock in three.
Erick Raich and Brian Stirm each homered and singled in the win. Stirm drove in a pair of runs.
Adam Varteressian doubled and singled twice in the Saratoga assault, and John Vartanian had two hits to push across three runs.
Derek Cartmell and Jim Huether had two hits apiece, and Caleb Mosley ripped a double.
Jason Worden was the winning pitcher for the Falcons, evening his record at 2-2, and he helped himself at the plate by driving in a pair of runs.
The win helped Saratoga improve to 6-3-1 in the De Anza Division and to 8-6-3 for the year.
Lynbrook, meanwhile, rolled to a 13-3 win over Mountain View last week after opening play with a tough 10-9 loss to Palo Alto.
Eric Barnes had two hits and Richard Shen doubled home a pair of runs for the Vikings in their win over Mountain View. Amir Tahsini and Brian Seip also doubled for the Vikes. Justin Flood drove in three runs in the win and Brodie Maag plated two.
Brandon Bencomo was the winning pitcher for Lynbrook.
The Vikings, 2-7 in the El Camino Division and 3-8 overall, had opened the week with the loss to Paly. Ryan Hummel singled and tripled for the Vikes, James White had two hits and Barnes doubled.
Vikings split
The Lynbrook boys tennis team split in a pair of matches last week, beating Prospect in a nonleague match before losing to Los Altos in De Anza Division action.
The Vikings, 10-5 for the year, pounded Prospect 7-0 to open the week. Phillip Perepelitzky rolled to a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles, and Edward Perepelitzky won 6-3, 6-0 at No. 2. Michael Wu came through with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles, and Jonathan Lee won 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4.
Mike Tai and Tomer Azenkot teamed for a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1 doubles. Russell D'Sa and Brandon Katz won 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2, and Tim Wong and Andy Pang won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3.
Azenkot was a 7-6, 6-4 winner at No. 2 singles and P. Perepelitzky won 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4, but the Vikings lost 5-2 to Los Altos in league play last week.
In other local action, Prospect lost 5-2 to Willow Glen in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, despite getting wins from Nevin Morris, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 at No. 1 singles, and Abrahin Jama, 6-0, 6-3 at No. 2 singles.
Saratoga dropped a 7-0 decision to unbeaten Monta Vista in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL.
Vikes top Falcons
Lynbrook won twice in El Camino Division play last week, beating Palo Alto 5-1 and tripping Saratoga 1-0 in extra innings.
The Vikings scored the game's only run in the bottom of the eighth to beat Saratoga last week. Stacey Benzing tossed a two-hit shutout for the Vikings, striking out 14 as she ran her pitching record to 7-2.
The loss was the first in division play for the Falcons, who are now 5-1 in league and 8-6 for the year. Ilana Sabes was tagged with the tough loss, despite tossing a four-hitter and taking a shutout into the eighth.
Saratoga had opened the week with a hard-earned 4-2 win over Cupertino. Bonnie Craven tossed a four-hitter for the win, striking out eight as she pushed her pitching record to 3-2.
Sabes doubled for the Falcons, and Joanne Sprague and Karen Lewis had two hits apiece.
Earlier in the week, Lynbrook whipped Palo Alto 5-1 on a one-hitter by Stephanie Motzny. The hurler fanned eight and walked just three in the game.
The two wins helped Lynbrook improve to 4-1 in the El Camino Division and to 9-5 for the year.
Over in the BVAL, Prospect won twice to push its record to 6-0 in West Valley Division play.
The Panthers, 12-3 for the year, opened the week with an 8-3 win over Yerba Buena and finished things off with an impressive 12-0 shutout win over Andrew Hill.
Annie Gillespie tossed a two-hit shutout to lead the Panthers to the lopsided win over the Falcons. Gillespie ran her pitching record to 5-1 with the win.
Stephanie Nichols ripped four hits for Prospect in the win, and Amber Madsen and Christa Farrell each singled and doubled to knock in two runs apiece. Cassie Gilford tripled in the win.
Gilford was the winning pitcher earlier in the week in the 8-3 victory over Yerba Buena. Gilford tossed a four-hitter for the win, pushing her pitching mark to 7-2, and she helped her cause at the plate with a double and two singles.
Nichols and Madsen belted two hits apiece, and Gillespie doubled. Annie Kailbrier tripled and knocked in three runs.
Westmont lost twice in the rugged Mt. Hamilton Division last week, falling 5-2 to Leland and 2-1 to Santa Teresa. The losses left the Warriors 5-2 in division play and 13-6-1 for the year.
Brittany Hennig singled and tripled, and Jennifer Brown singled and doubled, but the Warriors lost 5-2 to Leland to open the week.
Hennig was tagged with the tough pitching loss after the Chargers unloaded for four runs in the top half of the first inning.
Michelle Salmiery supported with two hits in the game for the Warriors, and Jessica Cobillas doubled.
Westmont lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to Santa Teresa later in the week, despite a pair of hits by Salmiery.
Over in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL, Del Mar was also stung with its first league loss. The Dons dropped a tight 3-2 nod in eight innings to Mt. Pleasant.
The game was for first place in the division. The Cardinals now top the pack alone at 6-0 with Del Mar second at 4-1.
Jennifer Godfrey led a seven-hit attack for the Dons with two singles. Kandice Lynch, Cynthia Klocke and Emily DeLong each doubled in the game for Del Mar.
Shannon Kagel was tagged with the tough pitching loss, despite tossing a three-hitter for the Dons. Kagel's mound mark slipped to 10-4 with the defeat.
The Dons broke up a scoreless tie with a run in the bottom of the fourth, but the Cards picked up two in the fifth to lead 2-1. Del Mar tied it with a run in the home half of the seventh, sending the game into extra innings.
But Mt. Pleasant scored in the top of the eighth and the Dons couldn't answer the run in the bottom of the frame.
The Dons, 10-4 for the year, will try to get back on the winning track this week when they host Willow Glen on April 12 and Valley Christian on April 14 in a pair of 3:30 p.m. games.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
