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WG wins frosh-soph baseball crown
By Dick Sparrer
It was a super season on the baseball diamond at Willow Glen this spring, and not just when the varsity team was in action.
Sure, the Rams had a sensational year at the varsity level. But so did the frosh-soph.
Willow Glen posted a solid 15-3 record to win the championship in frosh-soph play in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
"We had a great year," said Rams head frosh-soph coach Joe Berg. "We just had a wonderful crop of young men."
Wonderful enough that they won their last 13 games in a row to clinch a title in the division.
The Rams rolled to big 10-run wins over both Mount Pleasant and Independence in the final days of the 2001 season to put distance between themselves and the rest of the pack and pull away from the field. Both the Cardinals and 76ers were still mathematically in the title race when the Rams eliminated them with the lopsided victories.
League most valuable player Doug Dionne starred for the Rams all season long. The sophomore played shortstop and pitched for Willow Glen, and his .400-plus batting average was tops on the club.
"He was our leader on the field," said Berg of Dionne.
Freshman Chris Hobbs, the younger brother of Willow Glen's ace pitcher Bobby Hobbs, was the club's third baseman and also did some pitching for the Rams.
"He was our number one guy out of the bullpen," said Berg of Hobbs.
Freshman John Gibilisco was a member of the varsity soccer team this past winter so got a late start in the spring, but he ended up as the Rams' lead-off hitter and starting center fielder.
"He was just a total team player," said Berg of Gibilisco. "He shored up our defense all year."
Pitcher Jason Etheridge "kept hitters off balance" and second baseman Justin Jeffrey "was steady all year and had a great demeanor," said Berg of a couple of freshman standouts.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
