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Sunnyvale girls win junior softball title
No 'if' game needed in Section 5 tourney
By Dick Sparrer
There was an "if needed" game scheduled in the Section 5 junior girls softball tournament.
But it wasn't needed ... the Sunnyvale girls saw to that.
Sunnyvale, champions of District 44, rolled to three straight victories to claim the Section 5 championship and win a berth in the Division 2 tournament at Oak Park in Stockton.
The local juniors opened the sectional tournament at Ortega Park in Sunnyvale with a tight 11-8 win over Gilroy of District 39. They came back to beat San Jose Spartan of District 59 13-4, then beat Gilroy 14-7 to clinch the tournament championship.
Lindsey Dow was the winning pitcher and Krista Droze led the offensive attack in Sunnyvale's 14-7 win over Gilroy in the championship game (Sunnyvale would have had to lose two straight to forfeit the title).
Dow struck out nine and allowed just five hits over six and a third innings to toss the juniors to the title-clinching win. Stephanie Hayes came on in relief to get the final two outs of the game.
Droze ripped three hits and scored three runs to lead an 11-hit attack for the champs. Dow and Biz Lynch each had two hits to knock in two runs apiece. Hayes also had two hits and Jennifer Sparks drove home a pair of runs.
Sunnyvale opened up a commanding 12-1 lead with four runs in the first, three in the second and five in the third on the road to the 14-7 win.
The Sunnyvale girls earned their place in the tournament championship game with a 13-4 win over Spartan in the finals of the winner's bracket.
Ashley Nucera led the bat attack with two hits to drive in four runs. It was her bases-loaded single that sparked a six-run rally in the first inning for Sunnyvale.
Speaking of sparks, Jennifer Sparks tossed four innings of two-hit softball to pick up the pitching win. She struck out six before giving way to Amber Barton, who fanned five over the final three frames.
Chelsea Whitehead had two hits to knock home a couple of runs, and Sparks and Barton had two hits apiece.
Sunnyvale had opened the tourney with a hard-earned 11-8 win over Gilroy. It took a four-run rally in the sixth and three more runs in the seventh for Sunnyvale to pull out the important victory.
The local juniors trailed 6-4 heading into the sixth, but rallied for four runs to snag an 8-6 lead. Gilroy tied it with two runs in the home half of the sixth, but Sunnyvale broke the tie with three in the seventh.
Barton drove in the run that proved the game winner in the seventh, then Hayes shut down Gilroy in the bottom of the inning to clinch the win for the locals.
Hayes came on in relief to pick up the pitching win. She scattered four hits and struck out two in five innings of work.
Dow ripped four hits and was on base five times to lead Sunnyvale offensively in the game. Droze and Dominique Costello belted two hits each in the win and Stephanie Kruckenberg was on base five times.
In other games in the tournament, Spartan (District 59) beat Dublin (District 57) 14-3, Gilroy drubbed Dublin 22-0 and Gilroy topped Spartan 8-4.
Some information for this story was taken from South Bay Sports (www.southbaysports.com), the official Web site of the divisional and sectional tournaments. Check South Bay Sports for the latest updates on youth sports events in the area.
Sunnyvale hosts Western Regionals
The best teams in the world will get together in Portland, Ore., later this week for the Girls Major Division Softball World Series.
This year, the road to Portland travels right through Sunnyvale.
The Sunnyvale National Little League and Little League District 44 have combined forces to host the 2001 Western Regionals at Washington Park, and the tournament champion will win a berth in the World Series.
The double-elimination tournament, for girls ages 11-12, started Sunday and games were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday leading up to the championship game on Aug. 8, 5:30 p.m. An "if needed" game is slated for 8 p.m. Wednesday at Washington Park.
The winner will play in the Little League World Series for Girls Softball Aug. 9-16 in Portland.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
