The Willow Glen Resident

Big finish for Lincoln Glen

Righetti perfect in district final

By Dick Sparrer

It was quite a finish for the Lincoln Glen Little League all-stars in District 12 tournament action this summer. In fact, some would say it was nearly perfect--and others would counter that there was nothing "nearly" about it!

The Lincoln Glen major division 'stars were perfect in the district tourney in more ways than one. Lincoln Glen won four straight games to claim the tournament championship, and pitcher Scott Righetti was perfect in the last one.

Righetti tossed a perfect game in Lincoln Glen's four inning 10-0 win over Almaden in the district championship game.

But winning the major division crown wasn't Lincoln Glen's only accomplishment in District 12. The local league also won the junior division title and finished second in the senior tourney.

"It was a fun run," said the Lincoln Glen Little League's Larry Schaffer, who was a member of both the major division and senior division coaching staffs. "There are some good things ahead for these guys."

The senior all-stars rolled into District 12 title game with a 12-inning win over Branham Hills, but they lost to Cambrian in the finals.

"They fought and they did a really good job," said Schaffer. "They finished second, and the kids are pretty pumped."

The Lincoln Glen major 'stars rolled through the district tourney to win the title.

Lincoln Glen whipped Branham Hills 14-5, edged Almaden 3-2, pounded Cambrian Park 14-6 and blanked Almaden 10-0 in the finals.

Almaden had fought back through the loser's bracket to beat Quito 16-4, Branham Hills 4-2 and Cambrian 7-6 to gain the berth in the title game.

Righetti perfect

But that's when Almaden ran into Righetti and company.

Righetti faced just 12 batters, striking out eight, to toss Lincoln Glen to the win. He also blasted a pair of homers to lead his club's offensive assault.

Justin Johnson, who had ripped three homers a game earlier in the win over Cambrian, slugged two homers against Almaden, and John Gibilisco belted one.

Lincoln Glen provided Righetti with all the runs he needed with three in the first inning. Randy Lewis beat out a bunt single, then trotted home when Righetti crushed a homer over the center-field fence. Johnson followed with a circuit blast, and Lincoln Glen was up 3-0.

Righetti struck out the Almaden leadoff hitter in the last of the first, then got a some nifty defense from Johnson at third for the second out. Johnson went to his right to field a hard-hit ball down the line, then fired to first to gun down Kevin Ota. Righetti struck out the next hitter to end the inning.

Gibilisco opened the second with a solo homer to center, then Righetti got Almaden on two ground balls and a strikeout in the home half of the inning.

Singles by Righetti and Gibilisco keyed a two-run third for Lincoln Glen, and Righetti retired Almaden on two Ks and a ground out in the bottom of the inning.

Lincoln Glen rallied for four in the fourth to take a 10-0 lead. Lewis doubled and Matt Dorsa singled before Righetti smashed a three-run homer. Johnson followed with his second homer of the game.

Righetti fanned the side in the bottom of the fourth to close out the win and secure his perfect game.

Lincoln Glen went on to represent District 12 at the Section 5 tournament at Aptos Junior High School. The locals opened with a 6-1 win over the Sunnyvale Metro Little League, but lost 3-0 to Scotts Valley, then 5-3 to Metro in the loser's bracket.

Christopher Brown, Kyle Buchannon, Nick Grande, Bryan Hewitt, Steven Lowrey, Taylor Reise, Johnie Reyes, Nathan Tom and Anthony Trovato were other members of the Lincoln Glen all-star squad that was coached by Dennis Schaffer, Mark Reise and L. Schaffer.

Juniors fall in section

The Lincoln Glen juniors also advanced to Section 5 play but lost their opener 9-5 to Milpitas South. They fought back with a 14-5 win over North County, but then lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to Milpitas South to drop out of the tourney.

Making up the Lincoln Glen district championship junior all-star team are Andy Alves, Patrick Carter, Doug Dionne, Keith Doleshal, Devid Estrada, Michael Glomb, Keith Lewis, Matt McCluskey, Tista Perri, Bobby Ralston, Ryan Trapani, Domenic Vallejo, Michael Wittmayer and Brett Yoshihara. The manager is Dave Wittmayer, and his coaches are John Yoshihara and Tom Perri.

Willow Glen all-stars

The Willow Glen major division all-stars won one of three in the District 12 tourney.

Willow Glen lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Cambrian Park in its tourney opener. The locals were tough-luck losers when ace hurler Chris Hobbs was struck by a line drive and forced to leave the game early.

Willow Glen came back to crush American 10-2, but then lost 3-2 to Quito to face elimination.

Hobbs, Matthew Koltosky, Trevor Allen, Justin Jeffrey, David Krause, Greg Lovely, Kyle Costanza, Justin Curry, Greg Duncan, Ryder Gillen, Bret Levine and Steven Tuttle were other members of the major division squad. Bob Hobbs was the manager, and Jim Copple was the coach.

Making up the Willow Glen 11-year-old all-star team were Todd Anderson, Joseph Blank, Beto Cisneros, Jeff Coleman, Davey Genochio, Scott Hines, Aaron Hogue, Kevin Madden, Austin Munro, Federico Ramirez, William Robinson and Jose Velez. The team was managed by Bill Hines, and his coaches were Brian Madden and George Robinson.

Members of the Willow Glen 10-year-old all-star team included Kelly Anderson, Nicholas Aurelio, Brennan Barker, Bryce Leanza, Jason Jeffrey, Jerome Lick, Eric Paul, Michael Reiton, Kerry Robinson, Dennis Schoonmaker, Jeramie Wiseman and Spencer Vanderhoof. The team's manager was Lance Leanza, and his coaches were Jim Jeffrey and Greg Anderson.

Playing for Willow Glen's 9-year-old all-stars were Cameron Bigger, Alex Bozzo, Kellene Condie, Johnny Contero, T.J. Copple, Nathaniel DaSilva, Nolan Maggipinto, Patrick McClain, Tim Needham, Adrien Reyes, Chris Skinner and Chris Vargas. The manager was Don Skinner, and his coaches were Jeff Steinberg and Jerry McClain.

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