Photograph by George Sakkestad
Fremont's Luke Donigan hangs in to make the tag at the plate in a league game against Los Gatos. The Firebirds beat the Wildcats in this game, but lost to the Cats 6-5 in eight innings last week.
By DICK SPARRER
Monta Vista and Homestead weren't exactly considered title favorites when the Cupertino Host Lions Tournament began.
The clubs were each struggling a bit through the preseason and into the early stages of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League campaign.
But even though they didn't figure to be title favorites, both the Matadors and Mustangs were playing for titles when the tournament came to a close last week.
Monta Vista matched up with Live Oak in the tournament championship game, and Homestead played Gilroy for the consolation crown.
Both clubs came up losers in the title games, but the losses couldn't tarnish otherwise outstanding performances in the two-week tourney.
Monta Vista came through with impressive wins over Terra Nova and Gilroy to move into the tournament finals, and Homestead upset Live Oak and shut out Soquel to earn the shot at Gilroy in the consolation finals.
Garrett Thee and Chad Purcell played key roles for the Matadors in each of the two victories leading up to the title game.
Thee led the Mats with his arm and his bat in the 4-2 win over Terra Nova. Thee was the winning pitcher, evening his mound record at 2-2, and he also ripped two hits to drive in two runs for the winners. Purcell supported with two hits in the victory.
Thee and the Matadors actually trailed 2-0 most of the day after Terra Nova picked up single runs in the first and third. But Monta Vista rallied for four runs in the sixth, the big hit a 2-run single by Thee.
Monta Vista beat Gilroy 7-6 in a 10-inning thriller later in the week. Purcell came on in relief to pick up the mound win, and he also drilled a pair of hits for the Matadors.
Thee came through with a couple of hits, and Brandon Douglas singled and doubled. Adam Peters had two hits to knock in a couple of runs, Ryan Mitchell had two hits and Nick Flood doubled.
Gilroy, like Terra Nova, jumped out to a 2-0 lead with runs in the third and fourth. But Monta Vista tied it with runs in the fourth and fifth.
The Mustangs rallied for two runs in the eighth to take the lead, but Monta Vista matched those runs in the home half of the frame to keep the extra-inning battle alive.
After a scoreless ninth, Gilroy picked up two more in the 10th to go back in front. But Monta Vista responded with three runs this time to pull out the win.
The Matadors moved into the title game after the victory, but lost 8-5 to Live Oak. Matt Huff had two singles, and Flood doubled to account for all three of the Monta Vista hits in the game.
This time it was the Matadors going up 2-0 early with a couple of runs in the second. Monta Vista added single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth, but Live Oak picked up three in the fourth, four in the fifth and one in the sixth to clinch the win.
The Acorns improved to 13-1 for the year with the win--their only loss coming earlier in the week against Homestead.
Ben Amiwero went the distance to toss a four-hitter to lead the Mustangs to the impressive 5-2 win over Live Oak. Amiwero struck out eight and walked just one in the game. Steve Myers led a 6-hit Homestead attack with a couple of singles.
Live Oak scored a run in the second to take the lead, but the Mustangs scored in the third to tie it, then broke the game open with three in the fourth. Homestead added a run in the sixth, and Live Oak could get just one back in the seventh.
The Mustangs pushed their season record to 5-7 with a solid 7-0 win over Soquel later in the tournament. Tony Plant was the winning pitcher in the 3-hit shutout.
Myers socked a home run and drove in three runs for the Mustangs, and John Hanneman homered and knocked in a pair of runs. Steve Papoulias singled and doubled in the win, and Aron Hall had two hits.
A single run in the second gave Homestead just a slim 1-0 lead through three frames, but the Mustangs busted things open with three runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth.
But Homestead lost 6-2 to Gilroy in the consolation finals.
Lynbrook lost to Gilroy to face elimination from the tournament. The Vikings dropped a 9-3 nod to the Mustangs despite jumping out to an early 2-0 lead.
The Vikes scored two runs in the home half of the first to go in front, but Gilroy tied it with two in the second. The Mustangs broke the tie with three in the fourth, then broke the game open with three in the sixth.
Junior Jered Schoettmer ripped a home run, and David Peng slapped a double to lead a 5-hit attack for the Vikings.
The Vikings will return to league play this week when they host Saratoga on April 1, 3:30 p.m., in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. Lynbrook will entertain Andrew Hill on April 5, noon, in a nonleague game.
Cupertino, meanwhile, lost 10-2 to El Camino in its final game of the Serra Tournament. Senior Jesse Mena ripped two hits, and Ryan Stewart doubled, but the Pioneers could manage just five hits in the loss to EC.
The Pioneers, like the Vikings, went up 2-0 in the first inning, but El Camino came back with one in the first, three in the second and one in the third to take control of the game.
Fremont, meanwhile, lost a couple of league games last week, falling 16-3 to Milpitas and 6-5 to Los Gatos in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL.
Nick DiQuisto doubled twice and singled to account for all three Fremont hits in the loss to the Trojans.
Milpitas scored two runs in the top half of the first, but the Firebirds rallied for three in the home half of the inning to take a 3-2 lead. It was a lead that was short-lived, however. The Trojans scored three in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth before opening up the game with eight in the sixth.
Fremont slipped to 3-4 in the division with a tough 6-5 loss to Los Gatos in eight innings later in the week.
The Firebirds fell behind 2-0 in the second, but tied it with two in the fourth and took a 5-2 lead after a three-run rally in the fifth.
Gatos picked up a run in the bottom of the fifth, then tied it with two in the last of the seventh to send the game into extra innings. It turned out to be just an extra inning, though, when the Wildcats scored in the last of the eighth to win the game.
Nick Duran and Warren Rick each doubled to lead a five-hit attack for the Firebirds.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 2, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.