Publication Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2005
BASEBALL ROUNDUP
Palo Alto 11s have winning streak halted
Palo Alto 11s have winning streak halted
(July 27, 2005) by Keith Peters
The Palo Alto Little League 11-year-old all-stars are used to battling from behind, which is a good thing considering what happened to them this week.
The previously undefeated squad lost its first game in the Section 3 Tournament, a 7-5 setback to once-beaten Danville in the championship game on a warm, humid Monday night at Athan Downs Park in San Ramon.
Both teams returned to the park on Tuesday night to decide which team will move on to the NorCal State Tournament, which begins Thursday in Folsom.
Despite the loss on Monday, Palo Alto coaches were confident their players would bounce back. For one, the team played 11 consolation-bracket games last season while finishing the postseason with 16 wins in three tournaments. So, facing elimination is nothing new.
"You were just a little bit away from winning that game," assistant coach Dave Goldman told the players after Monday's tough loss.
Added manager Greg Avis: "I love the way you came back."
Palo Alto fell behind by 5-0 after Danville blasted a pair of two-run homers in the top of the third.
Palo Alto rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fourth to make a game of it. Graham Marchant, who was battling the stomach flu, singled in Freddy Avis, who ended a no-hit bid by Danville's Jordan Whitmore with a leadoff single. Kevin Kannappan added an RBI single and Jack Witte drew a bases-loaded walk.
After Jordan Weiss hit his second homer of the game to give Danville a 6-3 lead in the top of the fifth, Palo Alto responded again with two runs in the bottom of the frame.
Avis again led off with a single and Austin Braff followed with a two-run homer over the left-field fence. With one out, Marchant ripped a double into the left-center gap. Marchant, however, was thrown out at third after tagging up on a flyout to center by Kannappan - ending a possible game-tying effort.
Danville stretched its lead to 7-5 in the top of the sixth when Sean Miller hit a solo homer, but Palo Alto threatened again when Chris Bisbee singled with one out and James Huber walked with two outs. That set the stage for Avis, who then lofted a deep fly ball to center for the final out.
Monday's outcome was a complete reversal of Saturday's 8-1 victory over Danville, where Avis and Huber combined to hold the losers to just three hits. Huber struck out four and allowed just one hit over the final three innings.
Palo Alto jumped to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Braff ripped into a pitch and deposited it over the fence. Seven runs came across in the fifth to wrap things up, sparked by consecutive singles from Avis, Braff and Jordan Piha. Kannappan delivered a big two-run double that proved to be the game-winner.
Palo Alto went into Tuesday's challenge game with plenty of pitching and the knowledge that Danville ace Jordan Whitmore would not be available after throwing 5 1/3 innings on Monday.
Semipro
The Palo Alto Oaks will open the Western Baseball Association playoffs on Friday after qualifying with a sweep of the El Cerrito A's last Sunday at Baylands Athletic Center.
The Oaks (17-1) will open the playoffs against the No. 2 seed from the Sacramento Rural League at 9 a.m. A victory will keep Palo Alto at home for a 3 p.m. game that day, while a loss would send the Oaks to West Valley College in Saratoga for a consolation-bracket game in the double-elimination tournament.
Palo Alto tuned up for the tourney by handling El Cerrito, 11-1 and 4-0. In the opener, Jefferson Bradshaw had four hits to lead the way while Durell Williams and Vince Gutierrez each had three. Jeff Kettmann had a two-run homer.
American Legion
Palo Alto Post 375 saw its season end in a frustrating 13-12 loss in 11 innings to San Mateo in the consolation finals of the Area 2 Tournament last Friday at Baylands.
Palo Alto grabbed a 3-1 lead after one inning, led 9-7 after three, and trailed 10-9 after six. Post 375 tied it up in the top of the ninth to force extra innings. Two runs in the 11th looked safe for Palo Alto when Justin Cecil ripped a run-scoring triple and then scored on an error to put Post 375 on top.
San Mateo, however, battled back for three runs in the bottom of the 11th to win it. The Orioles produced 16 hits to Palo Alto's 15. The teams combined for eight errors.
Nathan Ford, Lance Turner and Cecil all had three hits for Palo Alto. Cecil added three RBI.
Palo Alto reached Friday's game with a 12-10 victory over Redwood City a night earlier.
Sam Zipperstein had four hits and five RBI to pace Palo Alto, which fell behind by 7-2 before rallying for four runs in the fifth and five runs in the top of the ninth. Colin Felch added three hits while Ford contributed two, despite being hobbled slightly by an injury suffered Wednesday night in the annual Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game.
Babe Ruth
After a 12-year drought, the Palo Alto has reached the Southwest Regional for a second straight season.
The 14-year olds made it last year and the 13s will be competing in the 2005 regional, which begins Aug. 4 against host Panguitch, Utah.
Palo Alto qualified by winning the NorCal State Tournament last week in Antioch, topping Sonoma in the championship game, 10-7.
Palo Alto opened with a win over Concord, then edged a tough Fremont team before rolling over host Antioch, 13-1.
"We're finally starting to hit the ball," said Palo Alto manager Rick Farr, who took the 14-year olds to Utah last season. "Colin Byrne, Joc Pederson and Matt Page are all hitting well and the defense has been real solid."
In the championship game against Sonoma, the key inning for Palo alto was the top of the fifth. Holding a 4-2 lead, Palo Alto loaded the bases with a walk, a hit batter and an error. Jon Rea laid down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt and the throw to first base was offline and ended up going all the way down the right-field line in foul territory. All three runs scored, and Rea ended up at third base.
"We squeezed again on the very next pitch," Farr said. "Jeff Keller laid down another perfect bunt, and Jon Rea scored. There was an inconsequential hit later in the inning, but we basically scored four runs without getting a hit."
Scott Witte pitched the middle three innings to get the win, with TJ Braff pitching the final 1 1/3 innings to collect the save.
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