Publication Date: Friday, March 19, 2004
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He suits Menlo just fine
He suits Menlo just fine
(March 19, 2004) Knights' junior Andy Suiter pitches a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts
by Keith Peters
Craig Schoof probably has every game Andy Suiter pitches circled on his Menlo School baseball schedule.
And with every circle, Schoof knows his team has a very good opportunity of winning. Suiter, a junior left-hander, is that good and that dependable.
On Wednesday, Suiter pitched a masterful, complete-game one-hitter and struck out 13 during a 5-1 triumph over host Jefferson in a PAL Lake Division game. The only hit came in the second inning on a bad-hop single that caromed off the face of Menlo first baseman Chris Francis.
Suiter also walked two batters. The only negative on the day was that Suiter allowed his first run of the season. The second-inning run by Jefferson ended Suiter's scoreless streak at 22 innings.
Suiter received plenty of help at the Knights improved to 6-1 with its division-opening victory. Senior designated hitter Tommy Whitfield had three hits in four at-bats, including a double, and junior leadoff hitter Ryan Cavan tripled, singled and scored two runs. Nathan Adelman drove in two runs for the Knights, who host Jefferson today at 3:15 p.m.
While Menlo was breezing, Menlo-Atherton and Palo Alto had to rally to pull out victories.
At Flood Park, the Bears (1-0, 5-5) rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull out an 8-7 victory over Carlmont in a PAL Bay Division opener.
Menlo-Atherton first tied the game at 3 when Kyle McCabe slammed a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth. The Bears appeared to have wrapped things up when Alec Roth doubled and J.T. Power singled him home for a 4-3 lead.
Carlmont, however, scored four runs in the top of the seventh and forced the Bears to play catch up once more. They did.
With the bases loaded, Domenic Di Ricco singled in two runs and took second on the throw home. Clark Hagman then doubled, driving home Alex Bedrosian and Di Ricco for the tying and winning runs.
Justin Dove had three hits for the Bears while David Klein, Roth and Power had two. Di Ricco, Hagman and Power all had two RBI for the Bears, who visit Carlmont today at 3:30 p.m.
At Palo Alto, the Vikings (2-2, 4-4) had only one hit in their SCVAL De Anza Division game with second-place Los Gatos, but made it count in a big way. Senior Max Pinto laced a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning to carry Paly to a 3-2 triumph.
Carl Laughton got his first pitching win of the season and Jeremy Gillan, who has a 3-0 record as a starter, picked up the save. The win came on the heels of a disappointing 6-4 loss to host Los Altos on Monday. The Vikings made an error that led to three Los Altos runs in the second while stranding six runners in scoring position and having two more runners thrown out.
The Vikings play host to Milpitas today at 3:30 p.m., hoping to gain some consistency.
Elsewhere in baseball action:
Gunn got three hits from Jeff Mendelman and a home run from Nate Urbassik, but the Titans (1-1, 4-2) still fell to Lynbrook in SCVAL El Camino Division action. Gunn will play Mountain View on Saturday at Baylands at 7 p.m. Mountain View is led by pitcher Erik Davis, headed for Stanford in the fall.
Golf
Palo Alto took advantage of ideal weather conditions Wednesday to shoot its lowest total of the season during a 181-200 triumph over Los Altos in an SCVAL De Anza Division match at Shoreline Golf Links.
Shoreline, which can get significantly more difficult when the afternoon winds kick up, was at the mercy of the Vikings on the windless day. Senior John Robinson led the way with a season-low 4-under-par 32. He had four birdies and no bogeys. He and his teammates fired 11 birdies on the day and one eagle to remain perfect at 4-0.
Sophomore Natty Stern followed with a 35, junior Will Haydon checked in at 37 along with sophomore Max Rausch, while senior Andy Livingston wrapped things up with a 40 over the nine-hole layout.
Swimming
The Sacred Heart Prep boys continued to post fast times and victories by rolling over visiting Menlo on Tuesday, 106-64, in nonleague action. The Gators improved to 3-1 while the Knights fell to 0-2.
Seniors Brandon Child and Bradley Thompson both registered a pair of individual victories in addition to swimming legs on winning relays. Child sped to good times in the 50 free (22.67) and 100 free (50.08) while Thompson defeated Menlo senior Taylor Wells in a close 200 free (1:48.55 for Thompson) before adding the 500 free in 5:12.99.
SHP junior Ryan Kauffman won the 100 fly in 57.47 and swam on the Gators' winning 400 free relay that clocked a season best of 3:23.51. Gators' freshman Kameron Flores-Maxfield, who broke the school record in the 200 IM a week ago, produced another decent winning time of 2:03.33 in dominating the field.
In the girls' meet, Menlo (1-1) received solid winning efforts from junior Kelsey Haley (50 free, 100 fly) and freshman Whitney Allen (200 free, 100 free) in a 105-65 nonleague win over host Sacred Heart Prep. Haley and Allen also swam legs on the winning 200 free and 400 free relay teams.
Boys tennis
Menlo (6-0, 7-0) continued to roll in the PAL Bay Division with a 7-0 romp over host Carlmont on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, senior Nial Brash won a pair of matches at No. 1 singles to help Menlo-Atherton (3-2, 4-2) defeat Burlingame, 6-1, in Bay Division play and Pinewood, 4-3, in a nonleague match. In the Pinewood match, the Bears' No. 3 doubles tandem of freshman Evan Kelson and sophomore Alex Steck sealed the victory with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph.
Palo Alto (3-2, 7-2) followed up tough 5-2 De Anza Division loss to visiting Monta Vista on Tuesday with a 6-1 nonleague triumph over St. Francis on Wednesday. Palo Alto will host a tournament today and Saturday. Finals are Saturday at 1 p.m.
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