Almost: Willow Glen's Dennis Schoonmaker is cut down at first base on this play against Quito in the District 12 tournament. Willow Glen lost 11-1 to Quito but came back to beat Union 5-1 before falling to Cambrian Park 5-2.
Photograph by Sebastian Widmann
Exciting season comes to an end
Willow Glen all-stars lose in district play
By Dick Sparrer
An exciting 2000 season came to a close last week for the Willow Glen Little League.
But the excitement that Willow Glen has enjoyed since the first pitch of the year back in April carried right through to the finish.
Willow Glen opened the 2000 season celebrating the pageantry of its 50th anniversary in the Little League Baseball program.
The excitement carried into the post-season when the major division champion Indians won the District 12 Tournament of Champions title.
Indians manager Lance Leanza then took the league all-star team, that featured seven players from his own club, into the District 12 tournament in Los Gatos and won two games before ultimately facing elimination.
But Willow Glen didn't go down without a fight. The local 'stars battled Cambrian Park right down to the wire before losing 5-2 to drop out of the tourney field.
Willow Glen opened the tournament with a 6-1 win over Lincoln Glen, but lost 11-1 a game later to Quito.
The locals stayed alive with an exciting 5-1 win over Union. Danny Dyer tossed a two-hitter for the win and led the offensive attack with his second grand slam of the tournament.
But Willow Glen lost 5-2 to Cambrian Park to drop out the tourney. The locals trailed 3-0, but picked up two runs in the top of the fifth to cut the margin to 3-2. Cambrian slugged a two-out, two-strike, two-run homer in the last of the fifth, though, and held on for the 5-2 win.
Members of the Willow Glen all-star team included Dyer, Kelly Anderson, Nick Aurelio, Brennan Barker, Mark Canha, Jason Jeffrey, Eric Kuehne, Bryce Leanza, Jerome Lick, Eric Paul, Michael Reiton, Dennis Schoonmaker and Chris Vargas.
The club's manager was Lance Leanza and his coaches were Dan Dyer and Dave Aurelio.
Willow Glen 'stars
Willow Glen sent seven all-star teams into post-season play in District 12. Members of the all-stars teams included:
11-year-old tournament team-- Eliseo Anaya, Johnny Cantero, Kellene Condie, T.J. Copple, Austin Ghiossi, James McCann, Patrick McClain, Nico Pagan, Adam Racobs, Adrien Reyes, Marcus Watson and Chris Skinner. The club's manager was Don Skinner and his coaches were George Robinson and Jerry McClain.
9/10-year-old tournament team-- David Bailey, Dallin Blank, Justin Finegan, Darius Ghani, Blake Gingerich, Dillon Hansen, Timothy Lawrence, Eric Linvill, Nicholas Maggipinto, Rush Manbert, Max Martinez, Sam Tedesco and Donovan Williams. The club's manager was Dave Bailey and his coaches were John Blank and Nick Gullett.
9-year-old tournament team--Jose Basurto, Kellan Barker, Elliott Boesch, Seth Gillen, Anthony Gotelli, Dane Gurley, Chris Henderson, Kevin Kapchuk, David Lobato, Mitchell Loquaci, Daniel Merriott and Phillip Sacks. The club's manager was Cory Gurley and his coaches were Don Barker and Patrick Gillen.
8-year-old tournament team-- Wesley Barone, Kyle Barton, Tanner Condie, Patrick Duncan, Brian Gibb, Seth Hein, Elliott Hoffman, Desmond McCann, Patrick McMahon, David Sedlar, Jeffrey Stapleton, Cody Swails, Steve Thompson and Mark Wyllie. The club's manager was Chris Duncan and his coaches were Mike Morehead and Rick Pooley.
Senior major all-stars--Forrest Brazelton, Robbie Copple, Matthew Garcia, Brian Herrmann, Brandon Hoagland, Zachary Hopkins, Jason Lick, Gary Lovely, Greg Lovely, Eric Martin, Luis Pacheco, Tim Stampher, Christoper Stevenson and Christopher Van Horn. The club's manager was Jim Copple and his coaches were Gary Hopkins and Don Skinner.
Junior all-stars--Joseph Blank, Jeff Coleman, Justin Curry, L.J. Grace, Eric Herrmann, Scott Hines, Aaron Hogue, Justin Jeffrey, Bret Levine, Alex Mladineo, Michael Racobs and Eric Stevenson. The club's manager was Bill Hines and his coaches were Jeff Hogue and Victoria West.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
