Saratoga News
Sports
Falcons go five games to top the Wildcats
By Kevin Sparrer
The first time the Saratoga boys volleyball team faced Los Gatos, the Falcons lost in four games to the perennially powerful Wildcats.
The second time around, though, it was a different story.
The streaking Falcons edged the Cats in a five-game thriller. It was their fourth straight victory and pushed them into a tie with Los Gatos for third place in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. Gatos is the defending Central Coast Section champion.
Saratoga pushed its league record to 7-4 and its season mark to 10-12 with the heartstopping win over the Cats in the match that went back-and-forth until the Falcons won the fifth and deciding game.
Juniors Doug Sabella and Mike Vetrone were the Saratoga leaders in the win. Sabella, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, led the club with 13 kills and Vetrone, a 6-foot-1 opposite, finished with five service aces, six kills, two blocks and 20 assists.
It was Vetrone who served out the final game to spark the Falcons to a 15-13 victory and the team win.
Saratoga won the first game 27-25, but Gatos tied it with a 25-20 win in game two. The Falcons won another tight one in game three, 25-23, but the Cats knotted things up again with a 25-19 win in game four. That just set the stage for Saratoga's victory in the final game, clinching the win on a kill by 6-foot-3 junior middle blocker Kent Johnson.
Junior Andy Capek, a 6-foot-4 middle blocker, supported with six kills and six blocks, and senior Ammar Kothari, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, added seventh kills and two blocks.
The win follows league victories over Wilcox, Fremont and Lynbrook to give the Falcons four straight in league play since losing to defending league champ and current league leader Homestead on March 29.
The Falcons will be back on the court on April 23 when they visit Monta Vista for a 6:45 p.m. match. Saratoga swept the Matadors in three straight games the first time the clubs met.
Falcons top Eagles
It was a good news, bad news, good news day when the Saratoga girls softball team battled Los Altos back on April 6. The Falcons jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the El Camino Division game--good news--but watched the Eagles tie it with a three-run rally in the top of the seventh--bad news.
But the Falcons scored a single run with no outs in the bottom of the eighth to pull out a 6-5 victory over Los Altos, and that was the best news of all for Saratoga.
Junior Victoria Azzi tripled and singled twice to lead the 12-hit attack for the Falcons. Azzi scored two runs and stole a pair of bases.
Sophomore Satomi Ishikawa also had three hits, including a double, and senior Lisa Brenner singled twice, scored two runs and knocked in a run for the Falcons. Brenner also swiped two bases. Junior Jacqueline Gragnola, sophomore Laura Ruddy and freshmen Stephanie Borsum also had hits for Saratoga and Borsum and Gragnola added stolen bases.
Brenner was the winning pitcher, scattering eight hits over eight innings and striking out a pair. The win pushed Brenner's pitching mark to 4-3 for the season.
The Falcons improved to 2-3 in division play with the victory. They had lost 4-2 to Wilcox and 7-3 to Santa Clara to open the week.
The Bruins scored a run in the first before Saratoga tied it with one in the second, but undefeated Santa Clara added two in the home half of the second and unloaded for four in the fifth to nail the 7-3 win over the Falcons.
Azzi tripled home a run and scored once for the Falcons. Brenner, J. Gragnola and freshman Nicole Gragnola each singled and Brenner stole a base.
In the loss to Wilcox, the Falcons led 2-1 after an innings, but the Chargers scored two in the third and one in the fourth to nail the victory.
Ruddy had two hits and knocked in a run and J. Gragnola doubled home Azzi with a run and scored one for the Falcons.
Saratoga hits the road to visit Los Gatos on April 19, 4 p.m., for an El Camino Division game.
Saratoga tops Lynbrook
The Saratoga baseball team has won four of its last five games, largely at the expense of the winless Lynbrook Vikings.
The Falcons knocked off the Vikes 8-2 in pool play in the Cupertino Lions Tournament, then beat them twice in El Camino play last week.
Bo Nielsen flipped a five-inning complete game shutout in Saratoga's 11-0 win over Lynbrook on April 10. Nielsen tossed a 1-hitter for the win that evened his mound record at 3-3, and he helped himself at the plate with a home run.
Bennett Rothenberg led the Saratoga offensive attack with a home run and a double to drive in four runs.
The Falcons came back with a 6-2 win over the Vikings two days later. Myles Hornberger went the distance to flip a 4-hitter in the win, pushing his mound mark to 6-1. Sophomore Joseph Avery singled and tripled to plate a pair of runs for the Falcons.
The two wins helped Saratoga improve to 6-3 in the El Camino Division, and to 10-7 for the year.
Earlier, Saratoga had topped the Vikes 8-2 in a Cupertino Lions game at PAL Stadium. Kevin Sieczkarek whirled a complete game 3-hitter for the win, evening his pitching record at 1-1. Sean Casserly had three hits to knock in three runs.
The Falcons had whipped Terra Nova 4-2 in the Lion's Tourney thanks to the combined pitching efforts of Nielsen and Hornberger and the power of Casserly and Rothenberg.
Nielsen started on the hill for the Falcons and picked up the win and Hornberger came on to nail his first save of the year as the two combined for a 6-hitter. Casserly ripped a home and Rothenberg singled and doubled to drive in two runs.
Saratoga dropped a 6-1 nod to Archbishop Mitty in the tourney. Avery's double was the highlight in a 5-hit attack for the Falcons.
Lai leads Falcons
Michael Lai fired a 3-over par 39 to lead the Saratoga golf team to a 214-246 victory over Santa Clara last week at the Santa Clara Golf and Tennis Center. The win helped the Falcons improve to 9-1-1 in the SCVAL's El Camino Division.
