Prospect clinches crown in Santa Teresa Division
By Dick Sparrer
There is no title race in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League this spring ... the Prospect baseball team has seen to that.
But there is one heck of a race still brewing for second place in the circuit. And the importance of the runner-up spot in the division? It brings with it an automatic berth in the Central Coast Section playoffs. And there are still four teams left with a shot at that prize as the season heads into the final two weeks.
Mt. Pleasant leads the pack of four with a 9-6 record, but Del Mar sits just a half game back at 8-6. Pioneer and Piedmont Hills are each 7-8 and both still have an outside shot at second.
But Prospect clinched the Santa Teresa championship with two wins last week. The Panthers ripped Pioneer 11-1 and came back with an 8-4 win over Independence.
Prospect is now 13-1 in the division, with just four games left to play. The Panthers hold a four and a half game lead over second-place Mt. Pleasant and a five game lead over Del Mar.
Steve Vidal had a big week on the mound for the Panthers. The right-hander tossed a two-hitter in the 11-1 win over the Mustangs, and he came back in relief on Friday to get the save in the 8-4 win over the 76ers.
The Panthers supported Vidal with nine hits and took advantage of eight Pioneer errors to nail the five-inning win on Wednesday. Vidal gave up a run in the first, but blanked the Mustangs over the final four frames as the Prospect offense went to work.
Lead-off hitter J.D. Mazzuca singled and doubled to knock in two runs and Kevin McPeck singled and doubled to lead a nine-hit attack for the Panthers. Steve Kong added two hits in the win, and Brent Maselli doubled.
The clubs matched single runs in the first, but the Panthers rallied for three in the second and two in the third, then clinched the win with five in the fifth.
Maselli ripped a solo homer and Mazzuca ripped a two-run triple to lead the Panthers to the 8-4 win over the Sixers later in the week. Kyle Bonvechio and Steve Kinney had two hits apiece in the win.
Aaron Jacks was the winning pitcher, pushing his mound mark to 4-2, and Vidal came on in relief to get his first save of the season. The two hurlers combined for a six-hitter.
Prospect is now 16-5 for the year.
Over in the Mt. Hamilton Division, Westmont lost twice last week to slip to 2-11 in the division and 7-14 for the year.
The Warriors lost 6-1 to Leigh, then dropped a 3-1 nod to Willow Glen. Matt Mills ripped a pair of hits for Westmont in the loss to the Longhorns, and Brandon Rose had two hits in the loss to the Rams.
Saratoga, meanwhile, suffered three losses last week in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. The Falcons lost twice to Fremont, 8-4 and 2-1, and dropped a 12-1 nod to Milpitas. Saratoga is now 3-11 in the division and 6-16 for the year.
Scott Moran and Andy Swanson each doubled to lead a five-hit attack, but the Falcons lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to Fremont on Friday.
Justin Oliver threw a gem for Saratoga. The Firebirds could manage just four hits, but they made them stand up for single runs in the second and fifth to offset a first-inning run by the Falcons.
It was Saratoga's second loss of the week to Fremont. Earlier, the Firebirds had blasted 12 hits in an 8-4 victory over the Falcons. Swanson, Marc Muniz and John Finnegan each doubled in the game for Saratoga.
The Falcons were held to just three hits while giving up 18 in a lopsided 12-1 loss to Milpitas.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
