By Dick Sparrer
Lynbrook needed a couple of wins last week.
The Vikings had lost a crucial game to Gunn before spring break, and they needed to come back strong when they returned to the diamond if they any hopes of remaining hot in the title race in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
So the Vikes needed to win a couple of games--and that's just what they did last week... in rather exciting fashion.
Lybrook edged Santa Clara 2-1 in eight innings, then came back to nudge Mountain View 9-8 in eight.
The two extra-inning wins helped the Vikings improve to 8-4 in the division and to 10-8 for the year.
Lynbrook and Gunn had squared off in the fight for first just before the break. The clubs took matching 6-3 records into the game, but the Vikes lost, dropping them a game behind the Titans.
That was before spring. Since that time, the Titans have lost two straight, and the Vikings had won two in a row to move back into first place in the division.
That sets up the May 1 rematch between the two clubs as a crucial game in the division title race. Lynbrook will visit Saratoga on Tuesday before hosting Gunn in a couple of 3:30 p.m. games.
The Vikings will enter Thursday's game in first place, thanks to the two wins last week.
Nick Kouvaris tossed a gem to lead Lynbrook to the win over Santa Clara to open the week. The junior hurler went the distance to toss a four-hitter over eight innings. He pushed his season mound record to 5-1 with the win.
Dan Hoss singled and doubled to lead a seven-hit attack for the Vikings. Greg Cirimele had two hits in the win, and Brian Avants and Kourvaris each doubled.
Santa Clara took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a solo homer, but Kourvaris blanked the Bruins the rest of the way. Lynbrook tied it with a run in the seventh, then won it with a run in the eighth.
The outcome was the same, but the game was much different later in the week for the Vikings.
Lynbrook fought back from a 6-2 deficit after two innings to take an 8-6 lead. Mountain View tied it with two runs in the seventh, but the Vikings scored in the eighth to win it.
Cirimele had a double among his five hits, and he drove in three runs for the Vikes. Avants doubled and had three singles to knock in three runs.
Hoss had three hits hits and also picked up the pitching win for the Vikings. Stace Russo and Jered Schoettmer each doubled.
Falcons fall
Kota Takamoto slapped two hits, but the Saratoga baseball team dropped a 13-4 decision to Cupertino when the Pioneers rallied for 10 runs in the third inning.
Mike Black doubled for the Falcons, and freshman Derek Cartmell knocked in two runs.
Saratoga slipped to 5-6 in the El Camino Division with the loss.
BVAL winners
Both the Westmont and Prospect baseball teams pulled out a pair of wins in Blossom Valley Athletic League play last week. But each team also suffered a loss.
The Panthers beat Overfelt twice, winning a pair of tight one-run decisions, but lost to Gunderson to open the week.
Nick Crawford went the distance to toss a five-hitter in a 5-4 win over the Royals.
Darrell Jacks singled and doubled for the Panthers, and Brad King doubled home three runs. Dan Baucus also had two hits.
Steve Bond doubled twice and singled, and Tim Anderson cracked a double to lead the Panthers to a tight 2-1 win over Overfelt two days later. Mark Johnston was the winning pitcher as the Panthers held the Royals to just two hits.
Prospect improved to 8-3 in the division and to 11-6 for the year with the two wins.
The Panthers had dropped a 4-2 nod to the Grizzlies earlier in the week, despite a single and double by Baucus.
Westmont also won twice last week, but also dropped a tough 7-6 nod to Yerba Buena to slide to 8-3 in the West Valley Division of the BVAL. The Warriors are 10-6 for the year.
P.J. Doherty had four hits, including a double and triple, and drove home five runs to lead Westmont to a lopsided 22-0 win over Yerba Buena to finish the week.
Junior Adam Curtis homered and knocked in three runs in the win. Nick North ripped a triple, and Ryan Hanson doubled.
The Warriors had opened the week with a 3-1 win over San Jose on a three-hit pitching performance by Zack Felder. The senior right-hander helped his cause at the plate with single and triple to drive in two runs.
Hanson doubled twice for the Warriors in the win, and Joe Alongi had two hits.
Hanson singled and doubled to drive in three runs, but Westmont lost a 7-6 heartbreaker to YB. Felder, Doherty, Brian Skarbek and Scott Smith added two hits each.
Vikes win a pair
Kendra Baldwin and Jodi Melanson each tossed the Lynbrook girls' softball team to wins last week, and each was there to provide offensive support for the other.
Baldwin tossed a three-hitter to lead the Vikings to a 2-1 win over Santa Clara, and Melanson supported offensively with three hits.
Melanson came back two days later to flip a four-hitter in a 3-1 win over Monta Vista, and Baldwin had a pair of hits in the victory.
Baldwin ran her season pitching record to 9-3 with the tight win over the Bruins. Baldwin helped her cause with a single and triple, and Melanson led the offense with three hits. Danielle Simione chipped in with two hits in the win.
The Vikings scored first in the game with a run in the second, but Santa Clara matched it with a run in the fourth. But Baldwin blanked the Bruins over the final three innings, and the Vikes picked up the tie-breaking run in the fifth to win it.
Melanson fired a four-hitter, striking out six, to lead the Vikes to the 3-1 win over the Matadors to finish the week.
Alice Liu singled and tripled for the winners, and Baldwin and Shelly Prevo added two hits apiece.
The Vikings scored three runs in the first, and that was all Melanson needed. She gave up a single run in the fifth but blanked the Mats the rest of the way.
Lynbrook improved to 6-1 in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL with the win. The Vikings are 16-7 for the year.
Monta Vista slipped to 4-3 in the division with the loss. The Matadors had lost 7-4 to Palo Alto to open the week, despite a big day by Kim Stocklmeir, who singled and tripled to drive in three runs.
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This article appeared in the Saratoga News, April 30, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.