The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Fremont opens Miguel with three wins

By Dick Sparrer

There were 24 teams in the field when the 14th annual Charlie Miguel Invitational Softball Tournament began last weekend.

And all 24 had hopes of playing for the championship when the tourney crown was decided on March 28.

But that dream remains alive for just over half of the teams in the rugged field. Because only 13 clubs return to the four-field softball complex at Mission College in Santa Clara with a chance of winning the Miguel crown.

Fremont, Wilcox, Santa Teresa and Piedmont Hills would appear to have the best shots at getting into the March 28 championship game. The four clubs are all unbeaten after the first weekend of tourney play.

But co-host Pioneer tops a list of nine teams still alive in the losers bracket as the tourney enters its second weekend of play on March 27.

A full slate of games is on tap for Friday. The featured contests will match Wilcox against Fremont and Santa Teresa against Piedmont Hills in a pair of 6:45 p.m. winners- bracket games.

Fremont put together wins over Westmont (3-2), Cupertino (2-0) and Del Mar (3-1), while Wilcox beat Notre Dame-Belmont (3-1) and Pioneer (3-1). Santa Teresa opened with wins over Gunderson (12-1), co-host Santa Clara (5-4) and Mountain View (2-1), and Piedmont blanked Los Altos (6-0), Mt. Pleasant (5-0) and Valley Christian (1-0).

In losers-bracket games on Friday, Lynbrook and Los Altos will square off at 5 p.m., with the winner to face Mountain View at 6:45 p.m.

In other 5 p.m. losers bracket games, Los Gatos battles Valley Christian and Del Mar faces Soquel. Pioneer takes on Westmont at 6:45 p.m.

Samantha Hess tossed three straight wins for Fremont in the first weekend of the tourney.

Hess flipped a two-hitter in the 3-2 win over Westmont to open the tournament. She came back with a one-hit shutout in the 2-0 win over the Pioneers.

Hess fired a three-hitter to lead the Firebirds to the 3-1 win over Del Mar. Diane Glass had two hits for Fremont and Cortney Canter doubled.

Homestead, meanwhile, lost two straight games in the tourney. The Mustangs fell 2-1 to Lynbrook and 3-1 to Del Mar.

Shawnti Bortoli tripled and singled twice in the loss to the Vikings.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, March 25, 1998.
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