The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Homestead pitcher Hilario Agbulos pitches the ball to first for an out against Leigh. But the Mustangs lost to the Longhorns 6-2.

Loya tosses Fremont to win

Mustangs drop three straight

By Dick Sparrer

Fremont needed a win.

The Firebirds had slipped to 2-2 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League with a tough 2-1 loss to Los Gatos to open play last week, and they needed a victory over Milpitas later in the week to pull back over the .500 mark in league play.

And the Firebirds got the win they needed, thanks to Ray Loya and Scott Armer.

Loya was the winning pitcher, and Armer blasted a home run to lead the 'Birds to a 7-1 win over the Trojans on Wednesday.

Loya ran his mound record to 2-1 with the win as the Firebirds held the Trojans to just three hits and allowed just a lone run in the sixth.

Fremont staked Loya to an early lead with two runs in the first and four in the second. That 6-0 lead stood up until the sixth, when Milpitas broke up the shutout with a run, but Fremont answered right back with a run in the home half of the frame.

The Firebirds blanked the Trojans in the seventh to claim the victory.

Amrer singled and homered to drive in two runs for Fremont in the win. Steven Carillo doubled home a pair of runs, and Johnny Tona doubled for the Firebirds. Fremont finished the day with nine hits.

Fremont, 6-4 for the year and 3-2 in league play, lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to Los Gatos to open the week.

The Firebirds jumped in front 1-0 with a run in the first, and they held that 1-0 cushion for three innings. But Gatos tied it with a run in the fourth, then broke the tie with a game-winning run in the home half of the seventh.

It was a long week for Homestead.

The Mustangs dropped a 6-2 nonleague decision to Leigh, then lost twice in league play, falling 11-4 to Los Gatos and 4-0 to Milpitas. The Mustangs are now 1-4 in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL, and 2-5-1 for the year.

Aaron Hall slapped a double, but that was just one of the two hits the Mustangs could manage in the loss to the Longhorns.

Homestead jumped in front 1-0 in the first inning, but Leigh came back with three in the third and two in the fifth to take a commanding 5-1 lead.

The Mustangs scored again in the sixth, but Leigh matched the run in the bottom of the frame and went on to clinch the 6-1 win.

Homestead pounded out 11 hits against Los Gatos later in the week, but the Mustangs could only drive across four runs in the league loss to the Wildcats.

Curtis Sanders doubled and singled twice to knock in two runs for the Mustangs, and Steven Milliken singled and doubled to knock in a pair. Andy Myers singled and tripled in the loss, and Hall had two hits.

Gatos went up 3-0 in the first, but the Mustangs fought back in the home half of the frame to cut the lead to 3-2.

The Cats added two in the second to go up 5-2, then broke the game open with four in the fourth.

Tony Plant doubled and Hall had two hits, but the Mustangs were blanked 4-0 by Milpitas later in the week.

[ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ]

This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, March 25, 1998.
©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.