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Saratoga Sampler
Pitcher of lemonade and softballs headed for nationals
By Mary Ann Cook
ALL STAR PITCHER: Molly "The Mold" Medeiros is a name you may not have heard before (unless you follow local softball), but something about her story suggests this may not be the last time that name sees print. Molly is 10 and a member of the West Valley Slammers All-Star softball team.
The team, composed of players ages 10 and under, won a berth at the nationals to be held in Texas Aug. 6-12. During the season Molly played for the Red Devils, which won the league championship, 20-0. She was then picked to join the Slammers. The all-star team played in five tournaments, coming in first in four of them and second in one, racking up enviable totals, as well as qualifying for the nationals.
The Mold is a pitcher with a smile on her face when on the pitcher's mound and a cool head even with the bases loaded. When the Slammers lost in the championship game in Arroyo Grande, it was her first loss in 30 games.
She has pitched a no-hitter and gave up only one run in the Petaluma tournament and only one in the national qualifier in Mountain View. In the fourth tournament the team scored 96 runs in six games. At the most recent tourney Molly was named All-Tournament Player, a title bestowed by the coaches of the other teams.
The Slammers are coached by Molly's father, Joe Medeiros, and her mother, Deanna, is team manager. The Mold also has a pitching coach: Lisa Mize of Olympian Softball in Campbell. That Mold moniker was bestowed on her by her father when she was a baby. (As in, they broke the mold when she was born?)
When she isn't pitching, Molly plays third base. And when she isn't playing ball, she's selling lemonade outside her house at 4th and Elva--earning money for the trip to the nationals. She's made $267 thus far. A surprising figure, since younger brother Joey, 4, is inclined to drink up much of the profits.
Mother Deanna played in the Saratoga girls softball league on the Giants team as a youngster. She was also a waitress at Little Amsterdam for seven years. Father Joe was a pitcher in his youth, played Little League for eight years. He is a superintendent of Devel Construction company.
Older sister Danelle, 15, makes news in another field: singing the national anthem at a Giants' game and appearing in local theater: playing Rizzo in Grease and in San Jose Childrens Theater production of West Side Story.
MORE NEW DOCTORS: Nicole Hlava began a three yearn anesthesiology residency at Brigham & Women's Hospital (Harvard Medical School) on July 1 after completing her internship at California Pacific Medical Center at University of California, San Francisco. She graduated from U. of Michigan Medical School in 2000.
A '91 grad of Saratoga High, she is the daughter of Joyce Hlava Ogden, a former city council member. Dad is former Saratogan Richard Hlava. In an aside, Ogden says she is dismayed at the number of community activists moving out of the area.
Fernando Gonzalez is an intern physician in pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Gonzalez received his doctor of medicine degree from Brown U. with honors in May. A '93 grad of Saratoga High, he is the son of Fernando and Esther Gonzalez.
Does Saratoga High produce more doctors than other comparable schools, I wonder. Seems to be the pattern here, or is it just that those are the ones the paper hears about? The number of post grads emerging from SHS sounds like a mighty hefty percentage. Wonder if they'll earn enough to live here?
Joyce Ogden, mentioned above, decries the fact that so many activists are leaving town, lured perhaps by the sums their houses are drawing. We lost the orchards, losing the trees, now we're saying goodbye to the very people who made Saratoga unique. Sic transit, etc.
MILITARY CAREER: Daniel Morse started the six-week basic training course at West Point called "The Beast" earlier this month. Morse attended UC-Davis during the 2000-2001 academic year before accepting the West Point nomination.
He was nominated for the academy by Congressman Tom Campbell. Morse was also selected an alternate to the USAF Academy and the USN Academy. He is the son of Duane and Betty Morse.
CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES: Christina McGurran, 13, won the Reserve World Championship title in the World Championship Paint Horse Show held in Fort Worth. It's a cumulative title based on a number of events and the equivalent of a silver medal.
Christina's parents, Tina and Timothy, own Monte Bello Ranch, which breeds and shows paint horses. She also won world championship titles in the individual events of jumping, horsemanship and reining. She's been an avid horseman since the age of 2. Her ambition: a spot in the Olympics.
WINNERS: Samantha Smith won second place and Ginny Kaufmann won third in the women's individual division of the equestrian vaulting competition held at Garrod Farms. Both are Saratogans. The event was a fundraiser to rebuild Camp Costanoan, for disabled children.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
