Saratoga News

Sports

Feurtado's bases-loaded double lifts West Valley to 15-14 win

By Dick Sparrer

Mike Perez was hoping it wouldn't be necessary to play the "if necessary" game when his West Valley College baseball team battled Merced in Saratoga last weekend.

But with his club down 14-3 after four innings, it was looking more and more like the Vikings would be playing a double-header instead of a single game in the Northern California Regional Tournament last Saturday.

Turns out, though, sophomore shortstop Doug Porras (Live Oak) and the rest of the Vikings had other ideas.

The Vikings, who had beaten Merced 6-4 in the series opener a day earlier, had a comeback in mind. They rallied for six runs in the fifth to make a game of it, then picked up single runs in the sixth and seventh to cut the lead to 14-11. Then they broke loose for four more in the top of the ninth to go up 15-14, and handed the baseball to relief pitcher Jason Codiroli (Archbishop Mitty) to close things out.

And close it out he did, allowing just a single as he struck out the side to clinch the win.

Porras was the big hitter for the Vikings in the game, hitting for the cycle with two singles, a double, a triple and a home run to drive in three runs. Codiroli and Ben Hemeon (Gilroy) each had two hits in the win, but it was a clutch three-run double by back-up catcher Pete Feurtado (Santa Cruz) that turned out to be the key blast in the game.

West Valley entered the ninth inning down 14-11. Brian Wendt (Leigh), who had singled in the seventh and scored on a triple by Porras, walked to open the inning. An out later, Adam Lara (Leland) singled and Porras, who had ripped a solo homer to open the sixth, plated Wendt with a hit. Ryan Tregoning (Leigh) singled to load the bags and Feurtado unloaded them in a hurry when he ripped a 2-0 pitch for a bases clearing double to put the Vikes up 15-14.

It was the West Valley bullpen that kept the club in the game after Merced had gotten off to such a hot start. Ian Pick (Cupertino), Dan Dyer (Leland), Nick Bertolucci (Monta Vista) and Tyler Derby (Leigh) each flipped a scoreless inning before Codiroli closed it out in the ninth.

A day earlier, Carlos Hernandez (Santa Clara) had tossed a complete game 8-hitter to lift the Vikings to a 6-4 win over Merced. Hernandez ran his season record to 11-0 with the win.

Lara and Chase Perez (Live Oak) belted two hits apiece to lead a nine-hit attack for the Vikings, and Lara and Derby knocked in two runs apiece in the game.

The Vikings, 35-9 for the year, now advance to the next round of the NorCal Regionals this weekend in Sacramento.