The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Here's the Pitch: Willow Glen hurler Jeremy Holt gets ready to let one fly in last week's battle with Leland. The Rams lost 9-5 to the Chargers, but worse than that one loss, the defeat was sandwiched by a pair of losses to first-place Valley Christian.

Cards deck Willow Glen

Rams suffer three losses to slip in baseball race

By Dick Sparrer

Don Dushane was worried about Mt. Pleasant. And, as it turns out, the Willow Glen boys' tennis coach had reason to be worried.

Dushane considered Mt. Pleasant, Del Mar and Yerba Buena to rank with his Rams as the top teams in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League this spring, and the Cardinals certainly played to that level last week.

Mt. Pleasant edged Willow Glen 4-3 to stick the Rams with their first loss of the league season. Willow Glen lost two of three singles matches, then lost both matches in doubles play to fall to the Cards and slip to 4-1 in the division.

Jon Hunter won 6-0, 7-5 at No. 3 singles, Meehan Lunt won 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 at No. 4 and Rich Hiraga won 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5 to account for the three Willow Glen victories.

Earlier in the week, Willow Glen swept all five singles matches in a 6-1 victory over Oak Grove.

Enis Tursic cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles and Hunter pulled out a tight 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 win at No. 2. Nick Kan won 7-5, 6-0 at No. 3 singles, Lunt 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 at No. 4 and Hiraga 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5.

Anthony Dean and Vince Butera teamed for a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles.

Rams drop three

The Willow Glen baseball team dropped three games last week, two of them to first place Valley Christian.

The Rams suffered losses of 14-1 and 8-5 to the Warriors, sandwiched around a 9-5 loss to Leland. The three losses dropped Willow Glen from a 3-1 league record to a disappointing 3-4 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL.

The week didn't start out well at all for the Rams. Willow Glen opened the week with a Monday game at Valley Christian, and after getting blanked in the top of the first, the Rams were touched for eight runs in the home half of frame.

Valley went on to roll to a 14-1 victory, holding the Rams hitless in the process.

Willow Glen appeared to turn things around on Wednesday against Leland. Home runs by David Dudley and Brad White helped the Rams open up a 5-3 lead by the bottom of the fifth. But Leland unloaded for five runs in the top of the sixth and coasted from there to a 9-5 victory.

White singled and homered to drive in two runs for the Rams and Dudley blasted a two-run homer. Eric Brugioni doubled for Willow Glen's only other hit of the day.

The Rams slipped to 3-4 in the division and to 5-7 for the year when they lost 8-5 to Valley Christian on Friday. Sal Politi doubled to lead a three-hit attack for Willow Glen.

The Rams, who were held to just seven hits in the three games last week, will try to get back on the winning track this week when they visit Santa Teresa on April 1, 3:30 p.m., and host Leland on April 3, 3:30 p.m.

Mustangs also 3-4

Pioneer also fell to 3-4 in the Mt. Hamilton Division last week, losing a 2-0 heartbreaker to Oak Grove before getting crushed 17-1 by Leland on Friday.

Jason Murdock was the tough mound loser in the loss to the Eagles. The clubs were locked in a scoreless tie through three innings before Oak Grove picked up two runs in the fourth. That rally would prove the difference in the game.

Ben Sabin doubled, and Bryce Hall had two hits to account for all of the Pioneer offense in the loss.

Volleyball split

The Willow Glen boys' volleyball team split a pair of matches last week, beating Westmont before losing to Lincoln.

The Rams knocked off the Warriors 15-13, 15-7, 2-15, 15-10, but fell to the Lions 15-10, 15-10, 15-12.

Willow Glen's record is now even at 2-2 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL. The Rams are 5-3 for the year.

Mustangs win

Maria Sedillo-Glatt tossed a four-hitter, and Lisa Nicolossi singled and doubled to drive in two runs to lead the Pioneer girls' softball team to a 7-2 win over Independence last week.

Sedillo-Glatt ran her pitching record to 5-3 for the year with the win. She blanked the 76ers over the first three innings before getting touched for a couple of runs in the fourth. She shut down the Sixers the rest of the way to cruise to the win.

Nicolosi led the bat attack with her two hits. Amy Thornhill also doubled and Casey Gividen drove home two runs.

The win came in the Santa Teresa Division opener for the Mustangs. Pioneer improved to 5-4 for the year.

Rams, Panthers fall

The Willow Glen and Presentation girls' softball teams both lost in league play last week, and they lost the same way--without scoring a run.

Willow Glen lost a tough 3-0 decision to Piedmont Hills despite a solid pitching performance by right-hander Nikki Garcia.

The Rams were not only blanked by the Pirates last week, but they were no-hit in the Santa Teresa Division game.

Presentation lost twice last week, getting blanked 9-0 by Oak Grove and 5-0 by Mitty. The Panthers could manage just four hits in the two Mt. Hamilton Division games.

Swimmers swamped

The Willow Glen girls' swimming team had such a good season a year ago that the Rams' reward was a trip to the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL. Some reward.

The Rams have had their hands full in the division, especially when they run into the likes of unbeaten Prospect. Willow Glen could win just one event in a 127-48 loss to the Panthers last week.

But second-year Willow Glen coach Jennifer Buchanan is not discouraged. In fact, she's rather optimistic about the future of her program.

"Because of our success last season, we have moved up a division," said Buchanan. "We will have more losses this season in our meets, but we're growing stronger as a team."

That team is made up mostly of underclassmen, with sophomores Tracy Harding, Whitney Gregg and Quinn Cowsert leading the squad along with freshman Kara Buchanan. The three sophomores were key performers on a Willow Glen team that went 6-1 in dual meets last season.

Harding stars in the freestyle events and the backstroke. Gregg, the team captain, concentrates on the individual medley and Cowsert is a top freestyler.

The three each competed in the 200 medley and 200 free relays at the Central Coast Section meet last season.

Buchanan is another freestyler who also swims the butterfly. She'll join the three sophs on the Willow Glen relay teams.

Willow Glen had a long day in last week's league meet against unbeaten Prospect. Gregg was the only winner for the Rams, taking first in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:27.84.

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