Saratoga News

Westmont Warriors get going to two league wins

By Dick Sparrer

The Leigh Longhorns and Del Mar Dons were breathing down their necks in the race for the title in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

So what did the Westmont Warriors do last week when the going got a little tough?

You guessed it ... they got going to a pair of victories, one of them a thrilling nine-inning win over Mt. Pleasant.

Westmont edged Prospect 2-0 on a nifty four-hit shutout by Ryan Hanson, then nipped the Cardinals 3-2 when junior Kyle Collins knocked in a game-winning run in the ninth inning. Sophomore right-hander Mike Malott struck out 12 in 823 strong innings to get the win over the Cards. Malott pushed his mound record to 4-3 with the victory.

Hanson slapped four hits to lead a 10-hit attack for Westmont in the thrilling win. Adam Antolin and Seth Zajac supported with two hits apiece.

Westmont scored a run in the top half of the first, but Mt. Pleasant picked up two in the home half of the frame. The Warriors tied it 2-2 with a run in the second, and that's how it remained until Collins' knocked in the tie-breaking run in the ninth.

Westmont improved to 14-9 for the year and to 13-3 in the division with the win.

Leigh and Del Mar entered play last week trailing the Warriors by just a game in the division standings. The Longhorns beat Mt. Pleasant and Prospect, but lost to Del Mar 5-1 to fall to a game and a half off the pace. The 'Horns are now 12-5 in Santa Teresa play.

Del Mar remains a game behind Westmont. The Dons backed up the win over Leigh with a win over Independence to move to 12-4 in division play.

Hanson helped the Warriors open the week with a 2-0 win over the Panthers. The senior right-hander fanned seven and walked none as he went the distance for the important victory.

Collins had a pair of singles to lead a seven-hit effort for the Warriors.

Dave Hildreth singled and doubled to lead the Panthers at the plate.

Prospect slipped to 6-10 in the division and to 8-14 for the year with the 13-2 loss to Leigh two days later.

Saratoga, meanwhile, played just one game last week. The Falcons faced a Tuesday bye, but came back to knock off Gunn 12-5 to even their record at 8-8 in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Gunn leads the division with a 12-4 record, and Saratoga's upset win was welcome news to second-place Monta Vista. The Matadors beat Mountain View and Los Altos last week to improve to 11-4 in the division.

Junior Andre Sorba slated a three-run homer and junior right-hander Mike Drew was the winning pitcher for the Falcons against the Titans. Drew improved his record to 7-4 with the win, and he helped his own cause by knocking in a pair of runs.

Sophomore slugger Erick Raich led an 11-hit attack for the Falcons with three singles. Troy Cardin blasted a double for Saratoga and Brady Moran drove home three runs.

The Falcons jumped on top of the Titans with three runs in the second to claim a lead they would have to relinquish.

Saratoga added another run in the third before Gunn finally scored in the bottom of the inning. But 'Toga answered back with a run in the fourth and three more in the fifth.

Gunn cut the Saratoga lead in half with three runs in the sixth, trailing just 8-4 heading into the seventh. But the Falcons put the game away with three runs in the seventh to all but end Gunn hopes for a comeback.

The Titans are hoping Saratoga will give them the same favor the Falcons gave Monta Vista last week. 'Toga hosts the Matadors on May 12, 3:30 p.m., and Gunn would like nothing better than to see a Saratoga victory.

The Falcons close out the regular season at Los Altos on May 14, 3:30 p.m.

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