Menlo, Sacred Heart Prep fall short in the CCS baseball semifinals Menlo, Sacred Heart Prep fall short in the CCS baseball semifinals (May 27, 2005)

by Keith Peters

The Menlo School and Sacred Heart Prep baseball teams came close to making history, falling just short of facing each other in the 2005 Central Coast Section Division III championship game.

Had both squads been able to play their best in Tuesday's semifinals at San Jose Municipal Stadium, the chance was there for both to meet in the finals for the first time ever.

Neither team, however, walked off the field feeling they did everything possible to play for a title.

Sacred Heart Prep let a two-run lead disappear in the bottom of the sixth and fell to top-seeded Carmel, 3-2.

Menlo gave up 15 hits, five walks and committed four errors in a 15-5 setback to No. 2 Palma.

Given the fact both teams had fairly young and inexperienced lineups, getting as far as they did this season was a triumph in its own right.

"We got much farther than I ever expected," said Menlo coach Craig Schoof.

Menlo finished 19-13 and shared the PAL Ocean Division championship despite losing its No. 2 pitcher to grades, losing its new No. 2 pitcher (John Liu) to tendonitis that kept him sidelined after spring break, and losing starting centerfielder Andy Gregg to a broken arm.

"We started the year with only 12 on the team," Schoof said, "and we finished one game with eight."

After seniors Andy Suiter and Ryan Cavan, the team's two most experienced and talented players, the Knights were "average" and very young.

"Our team batting average was only .253 and the slugging percentage was .309," School said. "I sometime wonder how we ever won a game with numbers like that. Then, add the (tough preseason) schedule we had and it was truly an amazing year."

Unfortunately for Menlo, everything pretty much fell apart against Palma. The Knights gave up six runs in the first without allowing the ball to reach the outfield. Two walks, two infield singles, a wild pitch and an error put Menlo in a quick 6-0 hole.

Menlo did rally with five runs in the top of the second, the big hit coming when Suiter lined a bases-loaded single to right after Cavan and Sami Morgan had drawn walks with the bases loaded.

The Knights, however, were blanked from there. Menlo stranded five runners in the fourth and fifth innings, despite getting four hits.

The game was the final prep outings for Suiter, Cavan and Colin Umphreys. Suiter, who would have been the starter had Menlo reached Saturday's title game, finished his career with 32 victories and 433 strikeouts, the latter a school record.

"In all honesty, it was easier to lose by 10 than by one," Schoof said, "especially knowing that if we somehow managed to squeak out a win we would have Suiter going on Saturday and probably would have been favored to win."

Prior to Menlo being ousted, Sacred Heart Prep threw a scare at top-seeded Carmel before falling. The Gators finished their season 18-11.

Sacred Heart Prep appeared headed for the finals after taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth. Travis Lucian lined a double down the left-field line and scored when Matt Connor's bouncer against a drawn-in infield was turned into an error. The Gators took a 1-0 lead in the second when Jason Powell led off with a single and scored on a fielder's choice by Braden Currier.

The Gators, however, left the bases loaded that inning and wound up stranding seven runners in the game. In the top of the sixth, Hudson Smythe and Kevin Andrews singled, but SHP failed to score.

Given that break, Carmel stormed back in the bottom of the sixth to score three times.

Chanteloup pulled starter Pat Coffey after five innings, saying his junior right- hander was beginning to labor. Reliever Scott Cattaneo, however, gave up a leadoff single and was replaced by Kevin Dos Remedios.

Dos Remedios walked a batter and allowed a pair of RBI singles with two out. With runners at second and third, Carmel scored the winning run when Dos Remedios attempted to pick off the runner at second but threw wild into center field.

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