The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Fremont third baseman Aldo Ramirez puts the tag on a sliding baserunner in last week's Spalding West Coast Classic tournament hosted by Mitty.

Spring break is no vacation

Fremont plays in tough tournament

By Dick Sparrer

It was the week of spring vacation.

But there was certainly no vacation for the high school baseball teams involved in the rugged Spalding West Coast Classic hosted by Mitty over spring break.

Teams from all over the state and then some were entered in the tourney, and Fremont was in the outstanding field.

Fountain Valley and St. John Bosco made the trip from Southern California to play in the tourney, and Mt. St. Joseph came all the way from Baltimore to compete.

But when all was said and done, it was Northern California dominating the tourney by nailing down the top three spots.

Logan of Union City whipped Foothill of Pleasanton 15-5 in the championship game, and De La Salle of Concord knocked off Fountain Valley 12-5 in the third-place game.

St. John Bosco clinched third with a tight 6-4 win over San Lorenzo, but only after opening the tourney with a tough 13-10 win over Fremont.

Jose Carrillo, Gabe Duran and Bryan McCann each blasted home runs, but the Firebirds came up three runs short against the Braves.

Carrillo and Duran each singled, doubled and homered to knock in three runs for Fremont, and McCann had a pair of singles to go with his homer.

Fremont could manage just two hits in a tight 4-1 loss to Canyon of Anaheim, then the Firebirds fell 11-6 to Chaminade Prep of West Hills to slip to 9-9 for the year.

Carrillo and McCann each doubled twice and singled in the game for Fremont, and Duran slapped a double. Carrillo drove in three runs for the Firebirds.

Firebirds fall

The Fremont Firebirds dropped a tough 4-2 decision to Leigh in the Mission City girls' softball tournament, despite an outstanding performance by Sheila Hess.

Hess tossed a three-hitter and also ripped three hits to drive in two runs, but the Lady Birds lost to the Longhorns. Robin Glass added two hits for Fremont.

The loss left Fremont 10-6 for the year.

Neufeld stars

Freshman hurler Kathryn Neufeld backed up a no-hitter with a one-hit shutout to lead the King's Academy girls' softball team to consecutive wins in the Christian Private Schools League last week.

Neufeld tossed a perfect game in King's 10-0 win over San Francisco Christian to open the week. The game was called after five innings because of the 10-run rule. Neufeld had fanned 14 of the 15 batters she had faced.

Megan Blink singled and doubled and Neufeld had two hits in the win for the Knights. Heather Garrell tripled and drove in two runs for the winners.

King's came back a day later with a solid 5-0 win over Mid-Peninsula. Neufeld improved to 11-1 for the year with a one-hit shutout. She struck out 16 and walked no one in the win.

Cecily Gordon cracked a pair of hits to lead the Knights offensively in the win.

King's staked Neufeld to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the first, and that turned out to be more than enough for the talented hurler.

King's is now 2-0 in league play and 13-3 for the year.

"We'll field our best all- around team ever (this season)," said King's coach Dan Atwell.

Senior catcher Rebekah Atwell heads a cast of solid returners from a King's team that won a league title a year ago. Blind, a senior third sacker, and Janna Schroy, a senior infielder, are other top returners along with junior Adrienne Cole. All four players won all-league honors a year ago.

Junior Michelle Brown is another returner from last year's championship squad, and she joins with freshmen Neufeld and Gordon and transfers Garrell, Katie Shockey and Hawley Menser to give King's a solid nucleus this spring.

The Knights have won the league title in three of the past four seasons, and they are favored to win it again this season, says their coach.

King's will be back in league action this week, hosting a pair of games. The Knights will entertain St. Lawrence on April 21 and Liberty on April 24 in a pair of 3:30 p.m. games.

Knights split

The King's Academy baseball team split a pair of games in the Christian Private Schools League. The Knights bombed San Francisco Christian 9-1, but lost 7-4 to Mid-Peninsula.

Matt Meng was the leader on the hill and at the plate in King's 9-1 win over SF Christian to open the week. Meng singled and doubled twice to lead a 10-hit assault for the Knights. He was also the winning pitcher as King's held SF to just three hits and a single run in the third.

The Knights lost to Mid-Peninsula later in the week, giving up six runs in the home half of the sixth.

King's and M-P were locked in a tight 1-1 battle through five innings. The Knights picked up two runs in the sixth to take a 3-1 lead, but Mid-Peninsula answered back with six in the bottom of the frame.

King's slipped to 4-7 for the year with the loss. The Knights are 1-1 in league play.

CCS Top 8 Meet

It promises to be a blockbuster... two thumbs up! And it's coming soon, to a track near you.

It's the annual CCS Top 8 Meet, featuring the best high school track and field performers in the Central Coast Section. And the meet should provide track fans with a special sneak preview of the CCS championships coming up in May at San Jose City College.

"It's like a CCS finals preview meet," said Los Gatos coach Willie Harmatz of the April 24 event on the Gatos track. "All of the top kids from CCS will be there, as usual."

Field events will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday with running events to get under way at 5:15 p.m. The admission cost is $5 for adults and $2 for students.

Competition will be in the varsity boys' and girls' divisions and in the boys' frosh-soph class. Only those athletes who currently hold a mark among the top eight in an event in the CCS rankings are eligible for the meet.

Spikers win

The Fremont boys' volleyball team pushed its season record to 12-6 with a three-game win over Live Oak. The Firebirds whipped the Acorns 15-6, 15-3, 15-11.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 22, 1998.
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