Publication Date: Wednesday, March 16, 2005
PREP ROUNDUP
Paly, Gunn baseball teams hold early league leads
Paly, Gunn baseball teams hold early league leads
(March 16, 2005) by Keith Peters
The Palo Alto baseball team will have its veteran catcher back in time for the first showdown of the SCVAL De Anza Division baseball season.
Nathan Ford, who has been playing on the Paly basketball team that concluded its 31-2 season with a loss in the NorCal Division II championship game Saturday, is expected to be behind the plate Wednesday when the Vikings (2-0, 4-2) travel to face Los Gatos (2-0) in an early season tussle for the division lead.
The Vikings have won four straight and have survived thus far without Ford. His leadership and bat should bolster Paly's already strong lineup.
Palo Alto's most recent victory was last Friday, a 12-7 bashing of visiting Los Altos. Kevin Briggs slammed a home run and drove in four runs while Karl Laughton and Michael Barich each had a pair of hits. An eight-run fourth inning blew open the game and gave Paly a 12-1 lead.
Also off to a solid start is Gunn (3-0, 4-2), which won three games last week after having a full squad together for only one day. The Titans toppled host Lynbrook on Saturday, 8-3, as Tucker Laurence picked up his second win. Ryan McDermott doubled home two runs in the first. Sam Zipperstein cut down a runner at home who was trying to steal to preserve a 4-2 lead before Colin Felch provided a cushion by doubling in two runs in the top of the fifth.
In a game between two of the El Camino Division's contenders, Gunn pulled out a 5-3 victory over visiting Saratoga last Thursday. Laurence preserved the victory by striking out two in the top of the seventh. He also slapped a two-run double and added a third RBI on a fielder's choice.
While Menlo has yet to begin Peninsula Athletic League action, the Knights have prepared themselves by playing a tough nonleague schedule. On Monday, Menlo evened its record at 5-5 by defeating long-time nemesis Pacific Grove in the first round of the NorCal Tournament.
The Knights and Breakers have met in the CCS playoffs four of the past eight years with Pacific Grove taking three straight until last year when Menlo won, 5-0, on the way to its first CCS title in 15 years.
On Monday, the Knights were led by an outstanding defense that turned three double plays, threw a runner out at the plate, and featured a diving catch by centerfielder Andy Gregg. Most important was the pitching of junior John Liu, who needed only 82 pitches to shutout the Breakers. Liu walked none.
Offensively, Andy Suiter led the Knights with two hits, including a double, and 3 RBI. The Knight's take on traditional CCS power Carmel at Menlo on Thursday (3:15 p.m.) in a championship-round game of the NorCal tourney.
Swimming
The season may be just getting under way, but a number of teams are already making quick progress toward successful campaigns.
The Sacred Heart Prep boys and girls are 3-0 overall after opening their respective West Catholic Athletic League dual-meet seasons with big victories last week.
The boys swam past visiting Riordan, 123-43, while the SHP girls swamped Sacred Heart Cathedral, 118-28.
The Sacred Heart boys may be even stronger than last season with the addition of freshman Alex Navarro to a lineup that includes sophomore standout Kameron Flores-Maxfield. Navarro produced a school-record 57.91 win in the 100 back, breaking the previous mark of 59.10 by Pat Norton in 2004.
In the girls' dual-meet triumph, SHP junior Tiffany Yim eclipsed the school record in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:09.33. The previous mark was 1:10.13 by Megan Maurano in 2004. Katie Sutherland added wins in the 200 IM and100 back, in addition to swimming on two winning relays.
The Menlo-Atherton girls opened PAL Bay Division action with a key 88-82 triumph over visiting Menlo last week. Kaitlyn Sitts turned in a fast 25.57 to win the 50 free and added a 55.68 win in the 100 free, in addition to anchoring the 200 medley and 200 free relay teams to victory. Kelly Eaton added victories in the 200 free and 100 back (58.54), and swam on both relays.
The Palo Alto boys and girls opened their respective SCVAL De Anza Division seasons with impressive victories at Monta Vista.
The Paly boys won, 114-71, with a balanced effort while the girls produced a 119-61 triumph as Monika Friedman won the 200 IM and 500 free and swam legs on two winning relays. The one relay Friedman did not swim on, the 200 free, clocked the No. 3 time in school history as Becky Wenzlau, Donna Kremer, Tanya Wilcox and Phoebe Champion swam 1:40.89 to threaten the 1995 school record of 1:40.10.
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