Photograph by R.W. Bradford
Alex Turlea of the Astros tossed a seven-hitter and struck out six to lead his club to a 6-4 DiMaggio League win over Belmont.
By DICK SPARRER
Alex Turlea certainly won his share of games for the Homestead baseball team this past spring--enough, in fact, to help the Mustangs win the title in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
But while the high school baseball season may be over, Turlea's 1996 season is not. He's still pitching, and still winning, as a member of the Sunnyvale Astros in the Peninsula Joe DiMaggio Baseball League.
The Astros, a team of 16- to 18- year-olds from Sunnyvale and Cupertino, were created by Greg Milton, the father of Turlea's Homestead teammate, Kayzell Milton.
The elder Milton, a former professional player, wanted to establish a ball club for players who had surpassed the age level for Colt League (ages 15-16). The rigorous DiMaggio League schedule seemed the perfect place for doing just that.
"We want these kids to get the most exposure possible this summer," Milton said, adding that college and pro scouts will attend many of the scheduled double-headers. "We expect that the players will learn from this experience and competition if they play hard, have a positive attitude, and adopt a professional demeanor on the field and in the dugout."
Milton, who played in the Dodger system before injuries halted his career, selected former teammate Ron Xepoleas as the manager of the club
The Astros opened the year by finishing second in a tough pre-season tournament in Burlingame, but struggled in their next few games to slip to 1-5 in league play.
Turlea went the distance on June 13 to toss the Astros to a 6-4 win over Belmont to get the locals back on track. The righthander struck out six and scattered seven hits in the win.
Art Alegria and Brett Erickson had three hits each and knocked in two runs apiece to lead the offensive attack in the win. Milton and Nick Duran each slapped two hits for the Astros.
Milton doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Erickson in the first to give the Astros a 1-0 lead, but Belmont tied it in the third. Sunnyvale picked up two in the third to take the lead for good.
Alegria singled home a run in the third and doubled one home in the sixth. Duran hit an RBI-single and Ben Amiwero knocked in a run.
The Astros opened the league season by splitting a twin bill with Daly City, losing the opener 3-2 before winning the nightcap 7-2.
Mike Elias and Brent McCann combined for a seven-hitter in the win over Daly City.
The game was tied 2-2 in the sixth when Frank George ripped a two-run homer to put the Astros on top. Consecutive hits by Erickson, Alegria, Duran, Lamar Harvey and Brian McCann sparked a three-run seventh, and the Astros had all they needed for the victory.
Tony Plant had flipped a six-hitter in the lidlifter, but the Astros dropped a tough 3-2 decision. Plant fanned five in his stint, but two unearned runs in the fifth proved his undoing.
The locals dropped an 8-7 heartbreaker to Menlo Park when the home team scored twice in the last of the seventh to pull out the win.
The Astros opened the home season by losing a tough 7-5 decision to Pacifica. The locals rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh, but came up two short.
The Astros trailed 6-0 after four and half innings before Antoine Watts raced home with their first run in the last of the fifth.
Pacifica got that run back with one in the seventh, but the Astros came fighting back in the home half of the inning.
Run-scoring singles by Milton and Erickson keyed a four-run rally, but that was all the Astros could manage.
Alegria and Erickson had three hits apiece in the game and Milton and Duran finished with two each. Erickson, Milton, Amiwero and Harvey each knocked in runs for the Astros.
Steve Goldberg, Jason Miller, Juan Montalvo and Art Wellersdick are other members of the Astros squad this summer.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, June 19, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.