By DICK SPARRER
It wasn't over when Javier Heredia's seventh inning double drove home Robert Perry with the go-ahead run.
Or maybe it was.
And Sunnyvale National Little League all-star hurler Mike Mattman made sure it was by putting down Briarwood-El Camino in the bottom of the seventh to clinch the extra inning victory in the semifinals of the District 44 major division tournament.
Mattman shut down the Santa Clara crew on two strikeouts and an infield roller to help Sunnyvale National clinch a tight 2-1 win and a berth in the major division championship game.
The Briarwood-El Camino all-stars were to battle Santa Clara Homestead on July 15 with the winner advancing to the tourney finale against Sunnyvale on July 17, 5:30 p.m., at Kennedy Junior High School on Bubb Road at Hyannisport in Cupertino. The unbeaten Sunnyvale club would have to be defeated twice (the if necessary game is slated for July 18 on the same field).
Mattman went the distance to get the win for Sunnyvale National against Briarwood. He struck out 12 in seven innings of work.
But it was the run in the top half of the seventh that helped make him a winner. Perry led off the seventh with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Troy Tulowitzki. Heredia followed with a run-scoring double up the gap in left-center.
Heredia had three hits in the win and Beau Caravallo added a pair.
Caravallo had singled, taken second on a wild pitch, moved to third when Perry reached on an error and scored on a wide pitch to tie the game 1-1 in the fifth.
Sunnyvale was coming off of a tight 3-2 win over Tri-Cities. Ali Sadat was the winning pitcher and Tulowitzki hammered a two-run homer in the first. Perry singled and tripled for the winners.
Tulowitzki was the winning pitcher in a 9-6 win over Moreland, and Sunnyvale National had opened with a 5-1 win over Sunnyvale Metro.
Daniel Sanchez ripped a two-run homer and Heredia added a solo homer to lead National to the win over Metro. Perry doubled and Sadat was the winning pitcher.
David Chiotti homered in the game for Metro.
Tri-Cities fell into the loser's bracket after falling to Sunnyvale National and beat Cupertino American 3-2 before losing 5-4 to Santa Clara Homestead.
Tri-Cities broke the 2-2 tie in the fifth when Kettner reached on an error and scored on a single by Ziv Tepman.
But Tri-Cities lost 5-4 to Santa Clara Homestead a game later to drop out the tourney.
But Homestead scored three runs in the fifth to win it and eliminate Tri-Cities.
Homestead knocked defending district champion Campbell out the tourney a game earlier with an 8-7 victory.
Tri-Cities had handed Campbell its first loss of the tourney, and did it impressive fashion on a no-hitter by Tepman.
Cupertino American lost 4-0 to Campbell to open the tourney when Tony Perez homered and tossed a no-hitter for the winners.
American came back with a 3-1 win over Mountain View thanks to a two-run double by Nick Epidendio. Jessie White struck out eight and was the winning pitcher.
Cupertino American elminated Sunnyvale Metro 6-5 before losing to Tri-Cities. Gordon Hawley launched a two-run homer in the fifth and Epidendio ripped a solo homer in the fourth to lead the attack for the winners. But it was Paul Niedermier's two-run triple in the sixth that tied the game 5-5, and Ben Guthrie's run-scoring single that won it.
Guthrie had two hits in the win and Dan Bigelow came on in relief to pick up the pitching win.
Ray Hunter doubled home a pair of runs in Metro's four-run first.
Metro had lost to Sunnyvale National in the first round, but beat up Santa Clara Westside 17-4 and Cupertino National 11-4 to stay alive in the loser's bracket.
Brandon Scripps pounded a two-run home run to key a seven-run seventh inning rally in Metro's win over Cupertino National. Manah Mehta, David Chiotti and Hunter each singled in the outburst.
Run-scoring singles by Chiotti, Jesse Cassellini and B.J. Klein sparked a three-run rally in the first.
Chiotti and Cassellini had two hits apiece for the winners and Scripps drove in four runs. Sheldon Perry was the winning pitcher.
Scripps had four hits to knock in five runs and Klein homered to lead Metro to the win over Westside. Chiotti doubled home a pair of runs.
Sunnyvale Serra was out in two games, losing to Santa Clara Homestead and to Moreland. Derrick Sibilia doubled in the 11-1 loss to Moreland.
Sunnyvale Southern also lost two straight to open the tourney, falling 5-1 to Mountain View and 5-2 to Los Altos.
Ian Kenworthy fired a no-hitter for Mountain View in the first game, and Sunnyvale could manage just two hits in the loss to Los Altos. One of the two hits, though, was a solo homer by Sheamus Beall.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, July 17, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.