Photograph by George Sakkestad
Prospect infielder Mark Johnston turns the double play in this nonleague game against Leigh. Last week, Johnston and the Panthers came through with double wins, beating Lick and Westmont.
By Dick Sparrer
Saratoga's been hoping for it to happen--and last week it did.
For the first time this spring, Homestead has lost a league baseball decision. And that's enough to give the Falcons a sparkle of hope in the race for the title in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
The Mustangs were upset 1-0 by Lynbrook in league action last week. Homestead came back to beat Gunn 7-4 to improve to 11-1 in the division, but the Falcons beat Gunn 3-2 to sit a game back at 9-2 in the standings.
The upset sets up the April 23 clash between Saratoga and Homestead as a crucial battle in the division. The Falcons will host the Mustangs in a 3:30 p.m. game, and need a win to move into a virtual first-place tie with Homestead. The Mustangs have already beaten Saratoga twice this year, though.
Lynbrook set up Tuesday's titanic with the tight 1-0 win over the Mustangs last week.
Fred Ramirez and Ben Amiwero locked up in a pitchers' duel in the division game, and it was Ramirez tossing a two-hit shutout to come out on top. He walked just one and struck out only two, but his teammates made just one error behind him.
Lynbrook had just three hits in the game, but the Vikings made a first-inning run stand up for the 1-0 win.
Lynbrook improved to 5-6 in the division and to 6-9 for the year with a 7-4 win over Cupertino later in the week.
Dennis Horvath doubled and tripled to drive in five runs for the winners and Shawn Flood cracked a double in the win. Randy Schottmer was the winning pitcher for the Vikings, pushing his mound record to 2-0.
Cupertino led 4-0 after four innings, but the Vikes picked up three in the fifth and four in the sixth to win it. Lynbrook blanked the Pioneers over the final three frames to clinch the victory.
Junior Jesse Mena was tagged with the pitching loss. Mena singled and doubled to lead the five-hit attack for the Pioneers. Matt Davis and Shawn Ardaiz each doubled.
Falcons win two
Saratoga won a pair of games last week, but only one that will help the Falcons in the race for the division pennant.
The Falcons opened the week with an 8-2 nonleague win over Santa Clara, and they came back with a tight 3-2 league win over Gunn. Saratoga had a 12-3 season record to go with its 9-2 league mark.
Sophomore David Schneider went the distance to fire a three-hitter to lead the Falcons to the tight win over Gunn. Schneider was touched for a pair of unearned runs in the first, then blanked the Titans the rest of the way to claim the win. He struck out seven in his stint.
David Goni singled and doubled to drive in a pair of runs for Saratoga in the game.
The Falcons tied it up with two runs in the second, and it remained 2-2 until the seventh when Saratoga scored the game-winner.
Goni was the winner and Johnny Taylor came on in relief to get the save in Saratoga's 8-2 win over Santa Clara. Goni struck out seven and gave up just two hits in his five-inning stint.
Kyle Cardin singled and doubled to drive in two runs for the Falcons in the win and Trent Frisina slapped two hits. Goni doubled home a couple of runs for the winners and Ryan Bernard ripped a double.
The Falcons scored a run in the first, two in the third, one in the fourth and two each in the fifth and sixth on the road to the victory.
Saratoga, after hosting Homestead on Tuesday, will visit Lynbrook for a 3:30 p.m. game on April 25.
Matadors fall
The Monta Vista baseball team dropped out of a second-place tie in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL after suffering a tough 5-4 loss to division-leading Wilcox last week.
A win would have left the Matadors just a game behind the Chargers in the race for the division flag. But the loss left the Mats 7-5 in the division with Wilcox in first place at 10-2 and Los Gatos in second at 8-4.
Eddie Ishak ripped a pair of hits for the Matadors in the win and Bret Feldman doubled twice. Jeremy Cunningham was stuck with the tough mound loss. Monta Vista is now 14-5 for the year.
Panthers win two
The Prospect baseball team won two straight games in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League last week, beating James Lick 8-1 and Westmont 6-3.
Bruce Morrow fired a three-hitter to get the win for the Panthers against Lick. Morrow evened his mound record at 2-2.
Matt Medlin and Jamin Claus each singled and doubled for the Panthers in the victory.
Morrow blanked the Comets over the first five frames, while his mates were staking him to a 7-0 lead with two in the third, one in the fourth, three in the fifth and one in the sixth.
Prospect came back with a 6-3 win over rival Westmont. Claus had two hits to drive in four runs for the winners and Ryan Johnston had two hits. Nick Solis nailed the mound win, running his record to 4-1.
Westmont ace Vinny Perez was tagged with his first pitching loss of the year in seven decisions. Sophomore Adam Curtis singled and tripled for the Warriors and Zack Felder knocked in two runs. The clubs are each 6-3 in division play.
Westmont wins
Westmont, 10-8 for the year, is coming off of a rousing 15-4 win over Andrew Hill.
Felder went five innings on the hill to claim his first win of the season. He helped his own cause at the plate with a pair of singles.
Curtis ripped two homers and singled to drive in four runs for the Warriors and Perez singled, tripled and homered to knock in three runs for the winners.
Sean Anderson singled and doubled twice to plate four runs in the win. Andy Brown doubled and singled twice and Kevin Laney ripped a double.
Westmont scored five runs in the first two innings, but Hill cut the lead to 5-3. The Warriors came back with five in the fifth and sixth, and rallied for five more in the seventh to post the easy win.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, April 24, 1996.
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