After all, the Knights were matched up against the champion of their own league, Sacred Heart Prep of Atherton. And the Gators already had beaten the Knights twice, 3-2 in March and 7-3 in May.

"Actually, we were really happy," King's coach Fred Raia explained. "We thought they might overlook us a bit and it is difficult to beat a team three times in a season."

Raia was right. The Gators played sloppy defense in some key spots, while King's made clutch plays in the field and at the plate. The Knights' five-run eruption in the seventh inning sealed the deal--an 8-3 win on May 21 at Buck Shaw Stadium.

The victory put King's and its 19-8 record opposite Menlo School (22-5) in a semifinal match-up on May 25. The survivor will battle for the Division III crown against the Carmel-Scotts Valley winner on May 29. The finale is set for 10 a.m. at San Jose Municipal Stadium.

Jason Linn pitched the first four-plus innings before giving way to Brian Lind, who "did a great job holding [the Gators] down," Raia said. "And Jordan McDonald did a wonderful job at third."

McDonald had two hits, including a game-tying single in the top of the sixth, and he was a part of two double plays. He started one double play in the first and finished a very important one in the last of the fifth.

After Sacred Heart had gone ahead 3-2 in the fifth, Lind replaced Linn on the mound with a man on third and no outs. Lind struck out the first batter, then the defense went to work.

On a suicide squeeze bunt attempt, the Gator batter popped the bunt up near the plate. Sophomore catcher Tim Svozil gloved the ball out of the air and fired it to McDonald at third, easily doubling off the runner who had charged toward home when the ball was pitched.

After McDonald singled home freshman pinch-runner Evan Chaney to tie the game 3-3, Lind set the Gators down in order in the last of the sixth, setting up the decisive seventh.

Lind walked and scored on a hit-and-run double by senior shortstop Matt Gustafson. Mike Perez, who earlier had scored the Knights second run, singled to left, chasing home Gustafson. After Tyson Kornely walked, the left-handed Chaney roped a triple down the line in right, driving in two and making the score 7-3. Chaney capped the rally by hustling home on Svozil's groundout to shortstop.

Sacred Heart put two men on after two were out in the seventh, but Lind was able to get the final out.

Homestead stymied

Homestead 's offense seemed be full of high-octane at the outset of its CCS Division II softball playoff opener, but a Los Gatos freshman took the ping out of the Mustangs' bats and helped end Homestead's season.

Although Los Gatos jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning at Redwood City's Hawes Field, the Mustangs were not discouraged. They scored two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first, and quickly strung together four hits and a well-placed bunt to tie the game in the second. And, with just one out, the bases were still loaded.

But Homestead's bats went quiet--17 up, 17 down ... lights out, party's over.

After a strikeout and groundout allowed Los Gatos to survive the second at 4-4, the Wildcats made a perfect decision in the third. Los Gatos coach Marlo Cortese brought in freshman Lindsay Zullo to pitch.

From the third through the seventh Zullo did not allow a baserunner, retiring all 15 Mustangs she faced, 10 by strikeout.

After the first inning, Homestead sophomore Melanie Gularte's pitching was almost as impressive. She held Los Gatos scoreless from the second through the fifth, but escaping the fifth was a challenge.

With two Wildcats on base and two outs Gularte "ended the threat when she got a called third strike on a great change-up," explained Homestead coach Mike McKinley.

Los Gatos picked up the decisive runs in the sixth. After a walk and a single by Kyrie Timbrook, Amy Hendrickson and Emily Augustine rapped run-scoring singles.

The Wildcats, who advanced to a quarterfinal game against Leigh, gained its 4-0 lead on two-run singles by Camille Cardinale and Liz Rose.

Senior Alison MacKay and sophomore Stephanie Edwards singled home runs in the bottom of the first for Homestead, trimming the score to 4-2.

In the second, Rachel Nishimoto and Kristel Colvin reached base on infield hits. Then, attempting to sacrifice, Tegra Lillie was able to reach base and load the bases. Sophomore catcher Jessica Allemandi drilled her second hit of the game to chase home Nishimoto and Colvin and tie the game.

Lauren Gniadek followed with a single, reloading the bags, before Zullo and then Wildcats stemmed the tide.

The Mustangs, who recently were awarded a forfeit win for an April game against Santa Clara, entered the playoffs as the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division champions. Their 10-2 record was just a bit better than Fremont (9-3) and Saratoga (8-4), the teams that handed the Mustangs their only league losses. Homestead concluded the season with an overall record of 15-11.

Schulenberg's 2-hitter

Sophomore Rebecca Schulenberg pitched an eight-inning, two-hit shutout, leading The King's Academy to a 1-0 CCS Division III playoff win over Half Moon Bay on May 19.

Freshman Emily Henderson broke the scoreless deadlock against Half Moon Bay, racing home on Lisa Walker's RBI hit in the top of the eighth. Henderson had two of the Knights' five hits and a stolen base.

King's was eliminated from the single-elimination tournament, however, three days later by Valley Christian. The Knights found themselves on the short end of a 6-0 shutout, and they ended the season with an 18-9 record.