Saratoga News

Sports

San Jose Tigers baseball season out of this world

By Kevin Sparrer

The San Jose Tigers went all the way to Jupiter to play in the World Series, and the experience was, well ... out of this world.

The Tigers, part of the National Adult Baseball Association, went to Jupiter, Fla., for the East Coast World Series and came home champions.

The Tigers rolled up enough points to secure the national points championship in the NABA. The Tigers finished with 850 points, a full 300 points higher than last year's champion.

The Tigers defeated the Dutchess Dodgers in the final round of the tournament 9-7 to take home the victory.

The Tigers also took part in the West Coast World Series in Phoenix, Ariz., finishing second.

There were two other tournaments during the year where the Tigers came out on top--one in Las Vegas and the other in San Francisco.

The majority of the players for the Tigers were members of Central Coast Section baseball teams, with most of them coming from Saratoga's 1999 CCS championship team.

Jaemin Caplan, who played for Del Mar in 2001, was voted the team's Most Valuable Player. Caplan, the club's shortstop, hit over .500 and had great speed up the middle. He led all of SJNABA in extra base hits and was the only player to play in every game, whether during the season or in a tournament. Caplan is going to play baseball for West Valley College this spring.

Alex Anderson from the Los Gatos 2002 squad batted over .650 in the Las Vegas and San Francisco tournaments for the Tigers and had an on base percentage of over .700. Anderson threw two years at West Valley before going on to pitch one year at Cal State Monterey Bay. For his last year, he moved to left field and in his first 24 at-bats Anderson had 16 hits.

Brian Stirm from Saratoga's 2000 team played three years of Class A ball before being released by the Giants in March of 2006. He threw one year for the San Jose Giants. Stirm spent his time on the mound for the Tigers, winning many key games, including the championship game of the NABA at San Jose Municipal Stadium.

Kris Hesenflow, from Prospect's 2000 squad, worked hard as a pitcher for the Astros in the SJNABA. He struck out 18 batters in one game and would join the Tigers for tournaments. He also started the championship games in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Jupiter.

Mike Drew, from Saratoga's baseball team in 1999, was a member of the Tigers. Drew spent some time on the mound and some in the field, and he made big contributions to the team with his bat and with his glove. Drew finished his college career in Tennessee in 2005 after playing two seasons at West Valley.

Justin Oliver played for Saratoga in 2002. Oliver led the Tigers in batting average this season.