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Curt Becker must be experiencing déjà vu. The manager of the Lincoln Glen senior division all-stars has seen the same thing unfold the last two years—his son's team wins the District 12 all-star tournament and then wins the Section 5 championship as well. And this year was no different, as Kevin Becker and his senior all-stars rolled through the first two all-star tournaments without losing a single game.
But it doesn't stop there. Last year, the Lincoln Glen senior all-stars took their success one step further by winning the Division II championship and advancing to the Western Regional tournament. And as if following suit, Becker's team continued the streak of déjà vu by repeating that feat with a 6-1 victory over Lemoore to win the Division II title on Thursday, July 31.
So what's the secret to the continued success?
"Hitting is my forte," Coach Becker said. "We are a good hitting team, score lots of runs, take advantage of miscues and play good defense."
The recipe has certainly worked well, considering Lincoln Glen has yet to lose a game in the postseason. The 15- and 16-year-olds actually ran into their hardest challenges in the District 12 all-star tournament beginning on July 5.
Lincoln Glen opened with a 9-2 victory over Cambrian Park and then moved into the championship game with a 3-2 victory over Branham Hills. After battling through the loser's bracket, Branham Hills earned a rematch with Lincoln Glen in the district title game. The Lincoln Glen seniors were victorious again—winning 6-4 to advance to the Section 5 tournament.
Becker's three doubles, one home run and five RBIs led the Lincoln Glen offense in the district tournament. John Shaffer added a homer to complement Becker's production.
It wasn't until Lincoln Glen played Gilroy in the first round of the Section 5 tournament that the offense really woke up. This time everyone contributed in the 33-4 thrashing. However, Nick Graziano took the spotlight in this game by hitting for the cycle and adding an extra double to go five for five from the plate. Not to mention he knocked in 10 runs.
The next contest against District 44's Cupertino National proved to be a much closer game. Becker ripped a two-run homer in the first to spark a three-run inning, but National battled back with two runs in the bottom half. An inning later, National tied the score at three, momentarily fell behind by one in the top of the third, but added two in the bottom of the third to take a 5-4 lead.
Becker struck again in the fifth inning when he connected for his second homer of the game. His three-run shot spotted Lincoln Glen a 7-5 lead, but National chipped away with a run in the fifth and one in the sixth.
Becker once again did his part to give Lincoln Glen another lead. His double, along with a National error and a wild pitch, sparked a two-run rally in the seventh inning that gave Lincoln Glen a 9-7 lead.
Greg Shannon then struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to take the complete game victory after throwing more than 140 pitches.
"It was a real seesaw battle," Coach Becker said. "That's the best game I've ever seen."
The Lincoln Glen all-stars didn't have much time to enjoy their thrilling victory because two days later they had to face Cupertino National once again—this time for the Section 5 championship.
Lincoln Glen again jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, but National responded with three runs in the bottom of the first. However, Lincoln Glen would not be denied, as they added three of their own the next inning to take a lead they would never relinquish. Garret Anderson did the rest on the mound by preserving the 9-6 victory.
"Garrett had a good change-up, and his fastball was in the mid-80s," said Coach Becker. "He pitched consistently and kept the hitters off-balance."
Lincoln Glen proceeded to then breeze through the early rounds of the Division II tournament with lopsided victories over Auburn (13-2) and Twin Cities (19-10). The locals boosted their winning streak to 10 consecutive games by defeating Newark American 5-1 in the winner's bracket final and Lemoore 6-1 in the championship game.
With the win, Lincoln Glen advanced to play in the Western Regional tournament Aug. 27 in Lemoore, Calif. And don't expect the all-stars to be satisfied with just making the tournament. Considering they are one tournament win away from the Senior League World Series, the Lincoln Glen seniors admit they are tired of déjà vu and want to win the tournament from which they got eliminated last year.
"I have been coaching these guys since they were boys," Coach Becker said. "But now they are men, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is the year we surpass the previous years."
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