 |
|
|
|
|
Pitchers star for Panthers Rams drop baseball opener to Prospect
By Dick Sparrer
It doesn't seem to matter who's pitching for the Presentation girls softball team this spring. They all look pretty tough.
Sara Wiedlin looked pretty tough when she tossed a perfect game at Cupertino, and Cindy Linerud did, too, when she flipped a no-hitter against Stevenson last Friday.
Alyssa Messier looked pretty tough in her one-hit shutout against Pioneer, and Denise Arde wasn't bad in her two-hit shutout against Wilcox early last week.
In all, the quartet has pitched well enough to help the Panthers get off to a quick 5-2 start in the 1999 season. And in those seven games, Presentation pitchers have allowed just 14 hits--eight of them coming last weekend in a 5-1 loss to Westmont.
So in their first six games of the year, the Panthers were touched for just six hits, which should come as no surprise considering that three of Presentation's five victories have come on no-hitters.
The Panthers started the year off right with four straight victories. Messier and Linerud combined to toss a one-hitter in the 4-0 win over Pioneer to open the year. Messier picked up the win, and Linerud came on to get the save for the Panthers.
Kari White-Burke singled and doubled to lead an 8-hit attack for the Panthers, and Kelly Burcina had two hits. Mary Ann Brown knocked in two runs to give Messier all the offensive support she needed to get the win.
Wiedlin was perfect later that week, blanking Cupertino 13-0 in a five-inning game. Wiedlin struck out 12 of the 15 batters she faced in the win.
Brown doubled home a couple of runs for the Panthers, and Gina Colella had two hits in the win.
Wiedlin came back with another no-hitter in the first round of the St. Francis Tournament. The Presentation ace was touched for a single run in the first, but held the Trojans hitless as the Panthers rallied with single runs in the fifth and sixth to pull out the 2-1 victory.
Presentation pushed its record to 4-0 with a lopsided 11-0 victory over Wilcox early last week. Arde fanned four in four innings of work to pick up the pitching win for the Panthers.
Burcina doubled and drove in four runs for the winners, and Linerud had two hits. Messier doubled in a pair of runs, Burke doubled, and Colella knocked in two runs.
The Panthers were stung with a 1-0 loss by El Camino, despite a three-hitter by Messier. A single run in the first was all El Camino needed to pull out the win. Presentation could manage just a pair of hits in the loss.
Presentation came back to split a couple of games in the St. Francis Tournament last weekend, beating Stevenson 8-0 before losing 5-1 to Westmont. Linerud went the distance to toss a five-inning no-hitter against Stevenson. She struck out 12 and walked just two in her five-inning stint.
Burcina and Messier each singled twice. Colella drove in three runs for the winners.
Presentation could manage just a pair of singles in the loss to Westmont a day later.
Baseball loss
The Willow Glen baseball team suffered its first loss of the young Santa Teresa Division season last week, falling 9-2 to Prospect.
Joe Cistulli and Gilbert Maldonado each singled and doubled, but the Rams could manage just two other hits in the game.
Willow Glen pitchers were touched for just seven hits by Prospect, but five errors proved costly for the Rams. Bobby Hobbs was tagged with the tough loss for WG.
Willow Glen slipped to 1-4 for the year with the league setback.
The lone victory for the Rams this spring was an 8-5 triumph over Andrew Hill in a nonleague game. Cistulli led a seven-hit assault with two singles, and Maldonado cracked a double. Senior Mark Arreola was the winning pitcher.
In other early season action, the Rams lost 7-1 to Santa Teresa and 9-3 to Bellarmine in the rugged Blossom Hill Tournament.
Richard Torres smacked a pair of singles, but the Rams lost the 9-3 decision to the powerful Bells.
Earlier in the tourney, Willow Glen dropped a 7-1 nod to the Saints, despite doubles by Cistulli, Hobbs, Will Rideau and Matt Segerstrom. Junior Greg Mansfield was tagged with the mound loss.
Ram netters split
The Willow Glen tennis team split a pair of matches in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL last week. The Rams edged Santa Teresa 4-3, but lost 5-2 to Silver Creek.
David Yazdani won twice at No. 3 singles to lead the Willow Glen effort in the two matches last week.
Yazdani nailed a thrilling 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-1) win at No. 3 to help the Rams clinch the 4-3 victory over the Raiders.
Senior Nick Perez came through with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles to give the Rams a split in singles play, then Willow Glen won two of three matches in doubles action to secure the team win.
Loc Nguyen teamed with Alex Nguyen for a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles, and Chris Lyons and Nick Burggraff won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 doubles to drive Willow Glen to the victory.
Later in the week, Jonathan Hunter won 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) at No. 1 singles, and Yazdani won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3, but Willow Glen dropped a 5-2 decision to Silver Creek.
The Rams, now 1-1 in the division and 2-5 for the year, will host Mt. Pleasant on March 16 and Independence on March 18 in a pair of 3:15 p.m. league matches this week.
|
|
|
|
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
