The Sunnyvale Sun

Sports

Photograph by Brian Connelly

Is he out or safe? Only the umpire knows for sure. The Fremont third base coach makes the call, but baserunner Sam Kesten reacts to the out call as Homestead third baseman Mike Lawler gets the force out. The Mustangs went on to beat the Firebirds 2-0.

Mustangs win three straight in softball

By MIKE BARNHART

The season started with five straight losses, including three by just one run, but Homestead's softball team hopes it has reversed its fortunes. Starting with their final game at the Circle of Champions Tournament on March 18, the Mustangs got their game going in the right direction and won three in a row.

After closing out the tourney with a 4-1 win over Hillsdale of San Mateo, Homestead scored league decisions last week over Mountain View and Saratoga. A 4-1 triumph over the Spartans and a 12-2, five-inning whipping of the Falcons improved Homestead's Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division record to 2-1.

Its next division game, a home game against Lynbrook on March 31 at 3:30 p.m., begins a stretch of four games in six days. The Mustangs visit Branham in a 1 p.m. non-league contest on April 1, before hosting Los Gatos on April 3 and visiting Monta Vista two days later.

In all three victories the Mustangs were able to jump out to early leads, and hold on behind the pitching of sisters Melanie or Becca Gularte.

Senior catcher Jessica Allemandi and junior Lindzi Wessel both had three hits and sophomore Nicole Cefalu had two, as the Mustangs beat Hillsdale and broke into the win column for the first time in 2006. Sophomore Genevieve Fernandez drove in two runs and Cefalu scored two. B. Gularte, a sophomore, was the winning pitcher, striking out five in three innings. M. Gularte, a senior, pitched the final four innings to earn the save.

Junior third baseman Lauren Gniadek carried a big bat against Mountain View, knocking in three runs with a home run and a double. Allemandi belted a pair of doubles. Maddy McKenna, the team's only freshman, singled and scored a run. Senior Rachel Nishimoto and junior Lindsey Chase also scored runs. M. Gularte pitched the distance, striking out six batters while allowing just four hits and one walk.

Senior first baseman Courtney Gosnell had two hits and four RBIs to pace the Mustangs' offense against Saratoga. A seven-run uprising in the top of the fourth put the game out of reach. M. Gularte pitched the first three innings, before her sister finished up.

Meanwhile, Fremont lost its El Camino Division opener, a tough 3-2 setback to Wilcox on March 23. The Firebirds went ahead, 2-1, with two runs in the top of the seventh, but the Chargers scored two of their own after two were out in the last of the seventh.

The next day, in a Charlie Miguel Tournament game, junior Samantha Ellis rapped three his for Fremont, but the Firebirds lost 6-4 to Mountain View. The loss dropped Fremont to 2-4 overall.

Senior Rebecca Schulenberg fired a 2-hitter for The King's Academy in a 3-2, non-league win over Saratoga on March 21. Emily Henderson's two hits paced the offense for the Knights, whose overall record improved to 6-1-1.

Mustangs win two

Homestead won a pair of games last week, a 2-0 decision over El Camino Division rival Fremont on March 21 and a 12-6 non-league decision over The King's Academy two days later. The victories gave the Mustangs a three-game winning streak and improved their record to 2-0 in the division and 4-4 overall.

Sophomore Evan Marshall combined with junior Erik Taubman on a three-hit, 2-0 shutout at Fremont. Senior Kevin Brahney pitched well for Fremont, allowing just six hits. Senior Mike Lawler and Taubman had two hits apiece for the Mustangs. Lawler also drove in a run.

Fremont rebounded from the loss to Homestead with a 10-5 win over Monta Vista. The Firebirds improved to 2-3 in El Camino play and 4-7 overall. Justin Cecil had two hits and two RBI for Fremont, and Rob Ramer was the winning pitcher.

A pair of juniors paced Homestead's win over King's. First baseman Andrew Pardo chased home four runs with a triple and two singles, and pitcher Kevin Labadie picked up his first varsity mound decision. The Knights were led at the plate by senior catcher Tim Svozil, who doubled twice and singled.

TKA was coming off a 10-0 pasting of Fremont Christian. Austin Ghiossi and Svozil combined to no-hit the Warriors. Evan Chaney and Caleb Rosado both had two hits. Chaney and Danny Clarkson both knocked in two runs. Daniel Detrinidad scored two runs.

Hoang is the MVP

With two exceptions, a close win over Saratoga and an eight-point loss to runner-up Mountain View, Fremont's girls basketball team dominated the El Camino Division this past season.

Game in and game out, the Firebirds used a pressuring defense to force turnovers, which led to easy transition baskets and victories by wide margins. In fact, while winning 11 of 12 El Camino games to secure their first division championship since 1996, the Firebirds outscored opponents by an accumulative score of 687-470, an average of 18 points per game.

Game in and game out, junior point guard Carol Hoang was Fremont's ignition switch, spearheading the defense and directing the offense. Her 339 points ranked third among El Camino players, but it was her league-leading 124 assists and 69 assists--second only to senior teammate Marylin Avila--that led the El Camino coaches to select her as Most Valuable Player.

Avila and junior Alison Bushnell also were selected to the 11-player first team. In addition to making a division-best 83 steals, Avila was the El Camino rebounding champion with 295 and the sixth-best scorer with a 9.1-point average.

Bushnell finished second in rebounds (262), fourth in points (10.4 average) and blocked shots, and fifth in steals.

Fremont senior Victoria Cunha was tabbed to the second team.

Mustangs honored

Homestead girls Michelle Grabau and Corinne Abernathy received All-De Anza Division soccer recognition, joining teammate Megan Foertsch, the division's Most Valuable Goalkeeper, on the first team.