Saratoga News

A new season begins

By Dick Sparrer

One season has ended, and another will begin.

That's the way they're looking at things out on the softball diamond at Westmont this week.

The Warriors wrapped up the regular season with two tough losses to finish 7-3-2 in the tough Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

But Westmont will start out fresh this week when the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs begin.

The Warriors, behind the strong arm of hurler Renee Sease, will begin CCS play on May 16 when they take on Salinas (16-11) at 5 p.m. at San Jose's PAL Stadium. Westmont takes a 17-6-2 record into the game.

Sease, who has already accepted a five-year scholarship to Auburn University, should be the key for the Warriors in the postseason. The dominant hurler is looking for a strong finish to a senior season that was slowed by injury.

The winner of the Thursday game will battle Leland (23-4-1) on May 18 at 10 a.m. at PAL.

Leland is certainly no stranger to Westmont. The Chargers won the Mt. Hamilton Division title, and they just beat the Warriors 5-0 last week.

Sease tossed a seven-hitter, but the Warriors could manage just five hits of their own and couldn't push a run across. Jen Chirayonion's double was the big hit of the game for Westmont.

Sease's record slipped to 18-5-2 later in the week when the Warriors dropped a 4-1 decision to Leigh in the final regular-season game.

Chirayonion, Monica Tapia and Katrina Little ripped two hits each for the Warriors.

In other local girls' softball action, Prospect split a pair of games in the Santa Teresa Division to finish the year 3-11 in league play and 5-17 for the year.

Kim Fujii belted four hits to lead the Panthers at the plate. Kristen Smith and Tiffany Matozzi had two hits apiece to knock in two runs each, and Angie Castro and Megan Sainsbury both had two hits.

Sarah Canatsy was the winning pitcher for the Panthers, tossing a 4-hitter at the Lions.

Earlier in the week, the Panthers had dropped a 4-1 Santa Teresa Division decision to Del Mar.

Saratoga, meanwhile, lost a 4-0 nod to Gunn in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. Freshman Shelby Lawson was stuck with the loss despite tossing a nine-hitter.