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Photograph by George Sakkestad
Saratoga's Erick Raich takes a mighty swing, and blasts a second-inning grand slam for the Falcons in their 11-0 win over Los Altos last week.
Raich, Falcons slam Eagles
By Dick Sparrer
Jason Worden didn't need much offensive support. The 6-foot-2 junior righthander was in the process of tossing a two-hit shutout for the Saratoga baseball team against Los Altos in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, so he would have been happy with just a couple of runs .
Well, Erick Raich got him that, and then some.
Raich, another junior, crushed a second-inning grand slam to provide Worden and the Falcons all the offensive support they needed, and Saratoga rolled from there to a lopsided 11-0 victory over the Eagles.
The win helped the Falcons improve to 14-3 in the division and to 19-7-1 for the year.
Saratoga had jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning before Raich stepped to the plate with the bags full in the second. Then the leftside swinger launched one over the Saratoga fence to make it 7-0 with one swing of the bat.
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Teammate Nick Blue (4) is among those to greet Erick Raich (21) at home plate after Raich clubbed a grand slam. The slammer helped the Saratoga baseball team to an 11-0 win over Los Altos.
The Falcons picked up another run in the third and three more in the fourth, and that proved more than enough for Worden to nail down a Saratoga victory in five innings.
Worden blanked the Eagles through five to provide Saratoga an early win on the 10-run rule. Worden pushed his season mound record to 8-2 with the victory.
Raich finished the day with a single and a homer to knock in five runs for the Falcons.
Jim Heuther belted two hits to drive in three runs in the win. Nick Blue ripped a triple, and Brady Moran, Dan Morse and Raymond Goñi each doubled.
The Falcons now advance to the CCS Division II playoffs against Aragon (13-9) on May 20, 7 p.m., at Washington Park in Santa Clara.
Warriors win two
Westmont and Del Mar both needed a win when they collided last week... but for very different reasons.
The Warriors needed a victory to avoid a possible last-place finish in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. And the Dons needed a win to keep their hopes alive for a berth in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
But they were playing each other in the league game last Wednesday, so both teams certainly couldn't win, even though they valiantly tried.
The clubs were locked in a 10-10 tie after seven innings, but it was Westmont pulling out a thrilling 16-15 victory to avoid the Mt. Hamilton cellar.
Actually, there was plenty to be decided in the final week of the Mt. Hamilton Division season.
Valley Christian would beat Oak Grove to clinch first place, and Leland would beat Oak Grove to climb into second.
Santa Teresa won twice, and Del Mar lost twice to create a tie for fourth place and the league's final CCS playoff berth, and Westmont won a pair of games to finish a comfortable three games ahead of last-place Pioneer.
The Warriors had sixth-place locked up before facing Pioneer on Friday, and all because of an exciting come-from-behind win over Del Mar two days earlier.
Del Mar opened up a 5-0 lead in the second inning and held a commanding 8-0 advantage heading into the bottom of the fifth.
The Warriors picked up just one run in the fifth, but they rallied for seven in the home half of the sixth to tie the game, 8-8.
Del Mar scored twice in the seventh, but the Warriors matched the two runs to send the game into extra innings. The Dons rallied for five in the top of the eighth, but Westmont miraculously fought back for six in the bottom of the frame to claim the victory.
Mike Cifelli had three singles and a triple to drive in four runs for Westmont in the win, and Colin McAvoy knocked in three runs with three hits. Seth Zajac singled twice and drove in a pair of runs for the Warriors, and Tim Wilson knocked in two runs.
Jim Brown had three hits for Westmont in the win, and Blake Barr, Mike Hilbert and Bill Stouffer slapped two each. Barr picked up the pitching win in a relief role.
Westmont wrapped up the year with a 10-6 win over Pioneer on Friday. Tony LaVista went the distance to pick up the pitching win for the Warriors. The 6-foot-2-inch junior righthander struck out eight in the win, his third in five decisions.
Sean Felder had two hits to drive in three runs for the Warriors, and Cifelli and Kyle Collins had two hits each. Zajac drove in a couple of runs.
Westmont wrapped up the league season with a 6-12 record. The Warriors were 9-15 for the year.
Panthers win
Prospect, meanwhile, wrapped up the league season with a 4-0 shutout win over Silver Creek. The Panthers are 16-9 for the year and posted a 12-6 mark in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL.
Dave Marrs went the distance to flip a four-hit shutout at the Raiders, striking out 10 and walking just one. Marrs is 5-4 for the year.
Dave Hildreth hit a two-run homer and a run-scoring single to lead the Panthers at the plate. Curtis Wills singled and doubled, and Darrell Jacks doubled in the win.
The Panthers picked up two runs in the first and two more in the second, and that was more than enough for Marrs, who tossed seven zeroes at the Raiders.
Prospect will open the CCS Division II playoffs against Burlingame (17-8) on May 20, 4 p.m., at PAL.
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Saratoga, California Since 1975
