Willow Glen Resident

Sports

Leigh, Branham off to hot start in softball

By Mike Barnhart

Softball and baseball teams from Leigh and Branham high schools continue to be on top of their game this spring. And, in the process, they continue to be on top of their respective divisions in the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

Carissa Theis was in the pitcher's circle for Leigh in all but two innings of its first 10 softball games. The results have been fantastic for coach Clovis Mirassou's squad--an 8-2 overall record, including 2-0 in the Mt. Hamilton Division. And the results have been pretty good for Theis, too.

The hard-throwing sophomore crafted her fourth 1-hitter of the season on March 28, a 2-0 decision over visiting St. Francis. She struck out 11 and walked no one, while her teammates handled the 10 plays in the field flawlessly.

Theis helped herself at the plate, smacking a single and a double for two of the team's six hits, and drove in a run. Two more sophomores, Shelby Ford and Kayla Pisano, accounted for the rest of the offense. Ford blasted a home run, and Pisano went 3 for 3.

The three sophomores also had their bats in the offense a day earlier as the Longhorns edged Westmont 2-1 in a Mt. Hamilton game. Ford had two of the team's six hits, Theis singled home a run, and Pisano drove in the other run.

Jessica Freedman, one of just two seniors on the Longhorns' squad, doubled and scored one of the runs. Freshman Elysha Theis walked and tallied the other. Sophomore Brooke MacLean contributed a double, and sophomore Brittney Pangborn added a single.

C. Theis was not as sharp as she would be against St. Francis, but many of her nine strikeouts helped end Westmont threats and she kept the Warriors off of the scoreboard until the sixth inning.

After playing three straight division games April 3-5 against Mt. Pleasant, Live Oak and Piedmont Hills, the Longhorns will compete in the Mission City Classic April 6-7 in Santa Clara. League play resumes after spring break, April 17 at Leland.

Meanwhile, Branham rode the explosive bat of senior Audrea Lopez to two more wins in the Santa Teresa Division. Lopez had two triples and a double in a 4-3 triumph over Santa Teresa and a home run in an 11-6 win over Sobrato.

Freshman Bobby-Jo Neimi was the winning pitcher against Santa Teresa and junior Kristin Davis earned the win against Sobrato. Junior Angela Hays sparked the offense in the Sobrato game with two hits and an RBI.

The Bruins, who improved to 4-0 in Santa Teresa play and 5-9 overall, opposed Willow Glen and Oak Grove before the break. They return to action on April 18, hosting Prospect.

Baseball

Leigh maintained a share of first place in the Mt. Hamilton Division by splitting a pair of one-run games with Leland. Each team won on the other's home field. Meanwhile, Branham ran its unbeaten Santa Teresa Division record to 10-0 with a two-game sweep of Del Mar.

The Longhorns relied on solid defense and two-hit pitching by senior Chris Balcom-Miller for a 1-0 decision on March 27. The Chargers bounced back 6-5 two days later, overcoming a 4-2 deficit with single runs in the fourth and fifth and two more in the sixth.

The results left Leigh (7-3, 10-5 overall) in a three-way tie for first place with Santa Teresa and Live Oak, one game ahead of Leland (6-4). Pioneer and Westmont finished the week in fifth at 4-6, Piedmont Hills followed at 3-7 and Willow Glen was 2-8.

Balcom-Miller, in his first season with the Longhorns after moving to the area from Carson City, Nev., fired a 2-hitter at the Chargers on March 27. He also singled and scored the game's only run in the top of the first inning on a single by Nick Jones.

It was the second consecutive complete game for Balcom-Miller, a 6-foot, 180-pounder who was a first team, all-league wide receiver for Leigh's football team last fall. A week earlier, he pitched a 3-hitter and struck out eight in a 5-2 win over against visiting Live Oak. Overall, Balcom-Miller finished the Leland series with a 4-1 record and a 1.63 earned run average.

Longhorns Max Michaelis, Kevin Arroyo and Jones all had RBI hits and Kevin Loper delivered a sacrifice fly in their 6-5 loss to Leland. Balcom-Miller and Tyler Christian scored two runs apiece for Leigh.

Branham jumped all over Del Mar twice, 10-1 and 9-0, a week after taking two from Sobrato. The Bruins were 14-1 overall, heading into a series against Prospect.

Junior Sam Whittemore allowed just four hits and one run over five innings, earning the pitching decision for Branham in the first meeting with the Dons. He struck out four batters and walked two, before Robert Flores came on to pitch the last two innings.

Daniel Scholl, Jeff Maves and Craig Hertler all scored twice and banged out two of the team's 10 hits. Maves also blasted a home run and drove in two runs. Michael Durham rapped a triple and added a sacrifice fly.

Ronnie Bernal's three hits and two apiece from Hertler and Flores paced Branham's 11-hit attack. Gino Valletta's double accounted for two of the team's seven RBIs. Flores, Hertler, Maves, Bernal and Scott DeStefano also knocked home runs.

Starting pitcher C.J. McCormick worked the first four innings to earn the mound win. Sophomore Chris Mendoza pitched the last three frames for the Bruins, yielding just one hit while striking out five.

After two games with Prospect, Branham will resume its schedule after spring break with a two-game series against Oak Grove, April 18 and 20. With an 8-2 record, the Eagles finished last week as the Bruins' closest rivals in the Santa Teresa standings.

Golf

Branham teammates Adam Loran and Jay Meyers shared the medalist honors during a Mt. Hamilton golf match against Leigh, but it was the Longhorns who came away with the team victory on March 28.

Loran and Meyers each shot a par 35 at Santa Teresa Golf Course, but Leigh remained unbeaten (10-0) in division play with a 5-stroke victory, 198-203, over the Bruins (3-8).

Track

Freshman Melissa Hopper of Leigh captured first place in the 1,600-meter run at the Central Coast Section Frosh-Soph Track and Field Classic March 30 at Los Gatos High. Hopper's winning time of 5:10.24 ranks seventh in the CCS this season.

Teammate Jordan Diaz was ninth in the 400 meters at the Stanford Invitational at Palo Alto. Her time of 57.91 ranks fifth in the CCS.

Volleyball

After splitting its first two league matches, Leigh capped the week with a strong effort at the 32-team Leland Charger Classic volleyball tournament.

The Longhorns beat Oak Grove but lost to Willow Glen in the opening week of the BVAL schedule, then won four straight in the Leland tourney before bowing out in the quarterfinals to eventual winner Homestead. The Longhorns' season record improved to 17-6.