By DICK SPARRER
One season is over, but the Cobras hope to see another begin.
The local baseball Palomino Division baseball team (17- and 18-year-olds) finished the regular season with a 26-8 record and were 15-3 in league play.
And thanks to that strong finish in the league season, the Cobras enter the regional tournament July 30-Aug. 5 at Baylands in Palo Alto as a top seed in the eight-team event.
The winner of that tournament advances to the zone tournament, Aug. 7-11, in San Dimas, Calif., and the winner there moves on to the Palomino World Series, Aug. 14-18, in Greensboro, N.C.
The Cobras are looking for a return trip to the series.
The local baseball stars finished third in the World Series back in 1993, but haven't returned since.
The Cobras have already won one tournament title this summer, finishing first in the Fourth of July Palo Alto Tournament.
Ahmad Bhatti went the distance in the title game, tossing a seven-hitter to lead the Cobras to a win over the Santa Clara Dodgers.
Garrett Thee fielded a hot smash at first and flipped to Jesse Soto at second for a game-ending out.
Peterson
In Joe Dimaggio League play, the Sunnyvale Astros upset league-leading Menlo Park 5-2, then opened the Fourth of July Tournament with two wins.
Alex Turlea tossed the Astros to the win over Menlo Park and Kayzell Milton's two-run singles keyed a four-run rally in the sixth.
Nick Duran added a run-scoring double for the winners.
In tourney play, Brent McCann struck out nine in a 5-2 win over Berkeley. Luke Donigian's two-run single in the fifth was a key hit for the Astros, and Art Alegria and Gabe Interiano added run-scoring singles.
Alex Turlea was the winning pitcher in a 10-2 victory over Alameda. Antoine Watts was three-for-three for the winners, and Duran and Brett Erickson had two hits apiece. Ben Amiwero, Bryan McCann and Frank George each drove in runs in a five-run fifth.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, July 24, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.