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Fremont can beat any team
And last week it was 'any given day' for the Firebirds
By DICK SPARRER
On any given day...
Sure, baseball coaches will say it--that on any given day any team can beat any other team. But is there any truth to the age-old baseball axiom?
Well, there certainly is this year in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
Not only can any teambeat any other team, that's exactly what they're doing.
It's been happening all year, and it did again last week when Fremont stepped up to knock off division leaders Wilcox and Monta Vista.
The Firebirds entered play last week a game under .500 at 4-5 in the division standings. Wilcox topped the division at 7-2, with Monta Vista a game back at 5-2, but even in the loss column.
And the two leads remained even in the loss column after Fremont got through with them last week. The Firebirds edged Wilcox 4-2 to open the week, then trimmed Monta Vista 3-1 two days later.
Senior Jose Carrillo blasted a three-run homer to spark a four-run rally in the third to lead the 'Birds to the win over the Chargers.
Junior Jason Placencia went the distance on the hill, scattering eight hits to pick up the pitching win. He pushed his record to 3-2 with the victory.
Junior hurler David Quinonez came back with a four-hitter a couple of days later in the 3-1 win over Monta Vista.
Johnny Tona had a couple of hits and knocked in two runs for Fremont and Carrillo and Gabe Duran each doubled.
Fremont slipped back to 6-6 in league play and to 8-9 for the year when the Firebirds suffered a 7-5 loss to Milpitas to finish the week.
Duran homered and drove in two runs for Fremont, and Pete Hernandez had two hits.
Mustangs fall
Homestead, meanwhile, lost twice last week, losing a 4-3 heartbreaker to Milpitas in league play and falling 9-5 to Saratoga in a nonleague game.
Curtis Sanders had two hits and Chris Dreyer doubled, but the Mustangs lost a 4-3 nod to the Trojans when Milpitas rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
The Mustangs, 3-8 in the division and 5-14 for the year, lost 9-5 to Saratoga a few days later. Dreyer and Aaron Hall had two hits apiece for Homestead, and Joe Andrews blasted a home run.
King's loses
The King's Academy, meanwhile, lost its opener in the Christian Private Schools League, falling 6-5 to Mid-Peninsula. The Knights rallied for five runs in the sixth inning, but M-P had rallied for six in the second.
King's is now 10-5 for the year.
Corral leads Mustangs
Senior hurler Natalie Corral tossed the Homestead girls softball team to a pair of wins in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL last week.
Corral flipped a seven-hit shutout in Homestead's 5-0 win over Monta Vista. Julie Speckels had two hits in the win and Brandi Tomasovitch doubled for the Mustangs.
Sarah Clewett had two hits for the Matadors.
Homestead opened the week with a 6-5 win over Palo Alto. Corral was the winning pitcher, allowing just five hits, and Speckels led the offensive with three hits. Ashley Suth had two hits for the Mustangs, Jennifer Caballero doubled and Danielle Bailey knocked in two runs.
Fremont wins two
The Fremont girls lost 7-4 to Lynbrook to open play last week, but came back to beat Gunn 11-5 and Palo Alto 7-2 to improve to 2-5 in the division.
Felicia Diaz singled and doubled and Samantha Hess drove in three runs to lead the Firebirds to the win over the Titans. Kristina Hays knocked home a pair of Fremont runs.
Courtney Cantor singled and tripled to drive in three runs and Diaz doubled and tripled to pace the 'Birds to a 7-2 win over Paly. Lani Castro doubled home a couple of runs and Carolyn Fidler had two hits.
Fidler and Castro had two hits apiece in the 7-4 loss to the Vikings to open the week.
Neufeld stars
Kathryn Neufeld tossed a no-hitter to help the King's Academy girls softball team claim an 11-0 victory over St. Lawrence Academy. Neufeld, who pushed her season record to 9-3 with the win, struck out 16 and helped her cause at the plate with a single and triple.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
