Saratoga's Adam Varteressian, shown pitching in the regular season for the Falcons, tossed a four-hit shutout to lift the Palominos to a 1-0 win over the San Jose PAL Giants in the regional championship game.




Photograph by Skye Dunlap







Saratoga wins Palomino crown

Locals advance to zone tourney

By Dick Sparrer

For years, Saratoga was well known throughout the area as a hotbed for football.

Years? Make that decades.

The high school program, under the leadership of Benny Pierce, was a powerhouse through the decades of the 1970s and '80s, and even into the '90s the Falcons were contending for league championships.

And the baseball program? Well, it was all right.

But baseball in Saratoga has undergone a transformation in the last few years. The youth programs have grown quite competitive, and the high school program has turned into an annual contender for the Central Coast Section playoffs.

This summer, though, topped it all. The Saratoga Palomino baseball team (17-18 year old division) made it all the way to the Zone tournament before losing to the Orange County Renegades.

"It was the farthest anyone can remember that a Saratoga youth baseball team has gone," said John Worden, who has been involved in youth baseball in the city for most of the last decade.

Saratoga won four games to take the title in the eight-team regional tournament at San Jose City College and win a berth in the zone tourney in Ontario. The local Palominos beat the Pittsburg River Bandits 9-4, Blossom Valley 3-2 and the Pittsburg Diamondbacks 6-4 before edging the rival San Jose PAL Giants 1-0 in the regional championship game.

The locals nipped the Giants 1-0 in the finals behind a four-hit shutout by Adam Varteressian. The Giants club featured such CCS stars as catcher Greg Baker of Leigh and pitcher Kevin Rose of Silver Creek.

Jim Huether ripped two hits and made "several key defensive plays," said Worden, to lead Saratoga to a the 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

"He leaped three feet to make the final out of the game," said Worden of Huether. "The ball was hit with such force that it knocked him back four or five feet, landing on his back."

Saratoga played a thriller against Blossom Valley. The locals were down 2-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh. But with two strikes, Tony LaVista ripped a two-strike for a two-run double to tie the game. Caleb Mosley followed with a double up the gap in right-center to drive home LaVista with the game winning run.

Jason Worden tossed three shutout innings in the 9-4 victory over the Pittsburg River Bandits to open the tournament.

But that game marked the end of the tournament for Worden and teammates Brian Stirm and Erick Raich. The three Saratoga stars were picked to play for Terry Hardtke's traveling team that ended up finishing third in the 42-team USSSA World Series in Florida.

Worden, who hopes to play at Cal Poly next spring, was undefeated for both teams over the summer. Stirm's only summer loss was in extra innings against the Santa Clara Red Sox, who went on to win the Palomino World Series. Raich hit over .400 for the summer and Worden his just under .400. Both Stirm and Raich plan to play baseball at West Valley Community College next season.

Baker and Westmont's Kyle Collins joined the Saratoga club for the zone tournament in Ontario. The locals lost their first game, but came back to pound San Bernadino 18-0, Fontana 12-3 and Covina 15-3 before losing to the Orange County Renegades. Baker homered for Saratoga in the loss to Orange County, and Saratoga sophomore Justin Oliver tossed two perfect innings in the win over San Bernadino.

The Renegades went on to play the Santa Clara Red Sox in the World Series, dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker.

Varteressian, who is headed to Mission College to play baseball, hit over .500 in the summer season.

Eric Barnes, a Saratoga resident who played at Lynbrook last spring, hit just under .500 for the year, Caleb Mosley his just under .400 and Mike Crosby hit almost .300, returning to baseball after three years away from the game.

Other Palomino players who are recent Saratoga grads and who hope to continue playing baseball at the college level include Huether (Loyola Marymont)-Crosby (Pomona-Pitzer), Matt Joyce (UC Davis) and Mike Cook (West Valley).

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