The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Homestead's Aaron Hall takes a big cut in last week's clash with Wilcox. The Mustangs lost 15-0 to the first-place Chargers, then lost to Cupertino later in the week.

Pioneers, 'Birds win in eight

Similar victories for local baseball teams

By Dick Sparrer

Cupertino and Fremont were on different fields in different parts of Santa Clara County last week, but the two high school baseball teams were experiencing very similar results.

The Pioneers and Firebirds each scored eighth-inning runs to pull out thrilling 2-1 extra-inning victories in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Cupertino scored in the bottom of the eighth to claim a 2-1 win over Los Gatos, and a couple of days later Fremont scored in the top of the eighth to nail a 2-1 win over Palo Alto on Paly's field.

Junior Chris McManus drilled a clutch two-out single up the middle to drive home the game-winning run for the Pioneers in the thrilling victory over the Wildcats.

Cupertino had taken the early lead with a run in the second. Senior catcher Matt Muller doubled, and Jerod Bierman drove him home with a single to give the Pioneers the 1-0 lead.

Los Gatos answered right back with a run in the third on a walk, a single, a fielder's choice and a double steal in a first-and-third situation.

But it remained 1-1 with neither team mounting much of a threat until the eighth. McManus and Gatos starter Mike Harris were matching zeroes four innings before Cupertino won it in the seventh.

Harris held the Pioneers hitless after Bierman's run-scoring single in the second until McManus ripped his run-scoring single in the eighth. But even though the Pioneers were held to three hits on the day, they provided McManus with all the offense he needed.

McManus went the distance to toss a four-hitter over eight innings. He struck out three and scattered the four Gatos hits, never allowing the Cats more than one hit in an inning.

Fremont, meanwhile, had quite a similar day in the win over Palo Alto. Bryan McCann tossed eight solid innings to get the win, and Warren Rick and Gabe Duran came through with the key hits to lead the Firebirds to the exciting win over the Vikings.

Rick singled and blasted a solo home run and Duran doubled twice to spark a six-hit attack for the Firebirds in the win.

McCann went the distance to toss a one-hitter, striking out 10 and walking just three. But despite his outstanding performance, he was trailing 1-0 after Paly scored in the second.

Fremont got the run back in the fourth, though, then scored the game-winner in the eighth.

McCann blanked the Vikings over the final six frames to pick up his first mound win of the league season.

Fremont, now 5-4 in the division and 8-6 for the year, had lost 11-9 to Los Gatos in a slugfest to open the week. The Firebirds ripped 11 hits, but Gatos came through with 13 hits, including three in a four-run eighth that proved the difference in the game.

Jose Carrillo doubled and singled twice to lead the offense for Fremont, and McCann ripped a pair of doubles.

Gatos opened the game with three runs in the first, but Fremont answered with three of its own to tie it 3-3 after an inning.

The Wildcats picked up two in the second and two more in the sixth, and took a 7-4 lead into the seventh. But Fremont scored three to tie it and send the game into extra innings.

Gatos rallied for four runs in the top of the eighth to regain the lead. Fremont battled back for two, but that's as close as the Firebirds would get.

Cupertino came right back after beating Los Gatos to edge Homestead 4-2.

Bierman was the winning pitcher in the game, and he helped his own cause with a pair of singles. The senior hurler pushed his record to 4-2 with the victory.

Kayzell Milton had two hits for the Mustangs in the loss, and Andy Myers doubled.

Cupertino improved to 6-3 in the division with the two wins this week. The Pioneers are 10-4 for the year.

For Homestead, it was the second loss of the week. The Mustangs had dropped a 15-0 game to first-place Wilcox earlier in the week. Homestead could manage just three hits in the shutout.

The Mustangs, now 3-6 in division play, slipped to 4-7-1 for the year when they lost 8-2 to Live Oak in the first round of the Cupertino Tournament last week. Myers had two hits, and Milton singled home a pair of runs in the third for the Mustangs.

Milton's single actually put Homestead up 2-1 in the game. But Live Oak rallied for two in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead, then scored three in the sixth and two in the seventh to win it.

In other local action, Ryan Mitchell led Monta Vista to a 6-2 win over Mountain View in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL.

Mitchell singled and tripled to drive in two runs for the Matadors. Brian Laatsch had two hits for the Mats, and Matt Cannon singled and doubled.

Senior southpaw Ben Lewis was the winning pitcher as the Matadors allowed the Spartans just seven hits in the game.

Mountain View scored single runs in the first and fifth, but Monta Vista jumped on the Spartans for five runs in the first two innings and rolled from there to the win.

The Matadors are now 6-1 in division play and 7-4 for the year.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 8, 1998.
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