SPORTS

Pioneer clinches Santa Teresa Baseball Division with 14-0 win at Lincoln

Seven-run first inning helps Mustangs extend league record to 15-0

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

Pioneer starting pitcher Andy Wright picked up the win in a 14-0 victory for the Mustangs, pitching four scoreless innings in which he allowed just one hit. The Mustangs clinched the Santa Teresa Division title with the win on April 29. Photo by Diego Abeloos

A seven-run first inning is all the Pioneer baseball team needed as the Mustangs took a 14-0 win at Lincoln on April 29.

In doing so, the Mustangs (20-5, 15-0) clinched the Santa Teresa Division title with three games left in the season and extended their winning streak to eight games.

“It was a good effort on our part,” said Pioneer Head Coach Jake Hernandez. “We came out swinging the bats and we had a great approach, we were aggressive at the plate. We did what we had to do to come out on top today.”

Pioneer starting pitcher Andy Wright picked up the win, pitching four scoreless innings in which the left-hander allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out four. The offense was equally effective for the Mustangs, scoring seven runs in the first and adding three runs in the second, two runs each in the third and fourth innings.

The Mustangs got the scoring underway in the first when first baseman Steve Matos doubled to drive in Andrew Schulz from second base for a 1-0 lead. Soon after, the Mustangs loaded the bases before catcher Eddie Hsieh doubled to drive in two more runs for a 3-0 lead.

“It relaxes our pitcher a little bit and it’s a great cushion to have in a game like this,” Hernandez said of the seven-run first inning.

Lincoln starting pitcher Luis Machuca had trouble with his control throughout the first inning, loading the bases once more before Michael Rudolph drew a walk, scoring Shaun Souza for the Mustangs’ fourth run of the inning. Andrew Schulz, who reached base earlier in the inning and later scored on Matos’ double, stepped up next and laced a single, scoring Hsieh and second baseman Danny Ventura, giving Pioneer a 6-0 lead.

Before the inning came to a close, Bailey, in his second at-bat of the inning, put Pioneer ahead 7-0 when the centerfielder singled to drive in Rudolph.

The Mustang offense wasn’t finished however, as Hsieh made it 8-0 in the top of the second with a single to drive in Souza with one out. After a two-out walks to Ventura and Michael Schulz loaded the bases, Rudolph lined a single to center field, scoring Mike Kaufmann and Ventura for a 10-0 lead.

“We’ve just been swinging the sticks well lately,” Kaufmann said of the offensive surge by the Mustangs. “It’s good to get the bats going early and often just so we can kind of put the game away and just do what we have to do to win.”

Meanwhile, Wright appeared to be on cruise control on the hill despite pitching for the first time in more than a week, allowing only a second-inning single to James McCann. After striking out the first two batters in the bottom of the third, Wright allowed a walk to Taylor Yemm before getting Ryan Cannon to ground out routinely to shortstop. In the fourth inning, Wright again set down the first two batters of the inning before walking Scott Healy. Wright made short work of the inning however, picking Healy off first base to end the threat.

“I’ve always had a pretty nice cushion coming into games this season so I can just go out and do my thing,”
Wright said of getting the early lead.

The Mustangs continued to pound the ball on offense throughout the game, scoring twice in the third on a one-out single from Ventura, scoring Hsieh and Souza for a 12-0 lead. In the fourth, the Mustangs added two more runs to make it 14-0. The first run came off the bat of Ryan Gall, who hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Steven Muirhead from third. Kaufmann then stepped up and singled to centerfield, scoring Wyatt Ptak.

For the Mustangs, clinching the Santa Teresa Division title with the 14-0 win fulfilled a season-long goal. Other accomplishments, such as the team’s perfect 15-0 record in league play, are icing on the cake for Hernandez.

“Going 15-0 is something that was not a goal of mine, because I wasn’t sure if it was realistic, but we have only three games to go and hopefully we can finish it off,” Hernandez said.

Chargers run out of steam in the fourth quarter

Head coach to retire at season’s conclusion

By Carl Ponzio
Times Intern

It was a 9-9 tie when the ball hit the grass signaling the beginning of the fourth quarter in Leland’s match against Bellarmine on April 25. However, it wasn’t long before bells were ringing in Bellarmine’s 13-10 victory.

Emotions ran high on the Leland side of the field as the sun beat down on the fatigued Chargers. As the fourth quarter drudged on, it began to look as if the Chargers’ valiant effort in the first three-quarters of play were of no use as Bellarmine tacked on four goals in the fourth. However, the boys of Leland swallowed their pride and took to the field for the last minutes of play.

“We didn’t want to roll over and play dead,” said Leland Head Coach Iliad Rodriguez.

Bellarmine jumped out to an early lead against the Chargers. Bellarmine’s David Ruiz managed to slip a shot by Leland goalie Neil Jackson with 9:09 remaining in the first. Shortly after Ruiz’s shot, Tim Ury of the Bells scored with 7:12 left in the quarter. Answering to Bellarmine’s 2-0 lead was Landon Maas. Maas put a shot into the net seconds after Ury’s goal and cut Leland’s deficit in half.

Ury found the net again with 5:16 remaining and only 21 seconds after Ury’s goal, Alex Klevay of the Bells scored, giving Bellarmine a commanding 4-1 lead over the Chargers. Gentry Jones and Andrew Mason scored for Leland closing the gap and making it a 4-3 game. Mason’s goal came with 0:14 left in the first.

Leland quickly tied the game in the second quarter. Junior Chris Emerson scored the tying goal with 10:37 remaining in the half. Less than a minute later, Bellarmine’s Chris Pahl managed to break the 4-4 tie with 9:35 left on the clock. With 5:35 to go, Mason put the ball through the posts again, leaving the game in a 5-5 tie.

Justin Chen of the Chargers scored the go-ahead goal with 2:58 remaining. The Chargers went into halftime with a 6-5 lead.

It was a grueling battle as the third quarter got underway. The Bells got on the board first and tied the game at 6-6 by the hands of Nick Della Rocchetta. Mason quickly gave the lead back to the Chargers with 9:22 remaining in the third. Jones added to the Chargers’ score with 6:01 remaining making it an 8-6 game. However, less than a minute after Jones’ goal, Klevay scored his second goal of the game, closing the gap at 8-7.

Garrett Gomes of Bellarmine scored with 3:56 remaining in the quarter, leaving both teams at eight goals a piece. Answering back to Gomes’ game tying goal, Mason scored and once again gave the Chargers a one-point lead. In the back-and-forth fashion displayed by both teams in the third quarter, Ruiz shot a laser into the Leland goal and tied the game at 9-9 with: 09 left in the third.

“I was impressed at the way our team fought back after half time,” said junior Andrew Willis of the Bells.

The Bells continued their aggressive play in the fourth quarter. Ruiz picked up where he left off and scored his third goal of the game with 9:51 remaining in the game, giving Bellarmine a 10-9 lead. As the quarter progressed, both teams battled for position. Running across the field became strenuous for the Chargers as a shallow bench left players needing a short break on the field.

With 4:45 remaining, Ury scored his third goal and put the Bells up 11-9. Less than 30 seconds later, Ury found the net again making it a 12-9 Bellarmine lead with 4:19 left in regulation. Pahl then scored his second goal propelling the Bells to a 13-9 lead. In a last ditch effort, Jones got around Bellarmine’s goalkeeper with 1:42 remaining for a goal, but before the Chargers knew it, bells were ringing in the stands.

Bellarmine (7-5, 4-3) walked off the field with a 13-10 victory over Leland (3-10, 1-7).

“Today was a pretty even game,” said senior Coleman Peng. “…We lost it in the fourth quarter because we ran out of energy.”

The Chargers’ loss to Bellarmine though, was minimal compared to the loss they will face at the end of this season.

Coach Rodriguez will be departing from Leland after six years of service. Rodriguez is responsible for the birth of lacrosse at Leland, but after a heart bypass that sidelined him from late March of 2004 until the beginning of the 2005 school year, Rodriguez has decided to step down from his coaching duties.

“I thought I could handle the daily grind of coaching, but it’s too much,” said Rodriguez. “It’s kind of hard to watch a stranger step in, but it has to be done”

Rodriguez plans to focus on attaining his master’s degree in education leadership at San Jose State.

High School Sports Schedule May 6 - May 12

Leland High School
Friday – Baseball vs. Willow Glen, 3:30 p.m.
Friday – Softball vs. Mt. Pleasant, 3:30 p.m.
Friday – Girls’ lacrosse at Sacred Heart, 4 p.m.
Friday – Swimming league finals and trials at Independence, time TBA

Saturday – Swimming league finals and trials at Independence, time TBA

Monday – Badminton league finals begin, times and dates TBA
Monday – Golf Central Coast Section playoffs begin, times and dates TBA

Tuesday – Girls’ lacrosse PAL playoffs begin, times and dates TBA

Wednesday – Softball at Pioneer, 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday – Baseball at Branham, 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday – Boys’ lacrosse PAL Playoffs begin, times and dates TBA

Thursday – Boys’ volleyball Central Coast Section playoffs begin, times and dates TBA
Thursday – Track BVAL championships at Mt. Pleasant, time TBA

Pioneer High School
Friday – Softball vs. Santa Teresa, 3:30 p.m.
Friday – Girls’ lacrosse at Menlo-Atherton, 4 p.m.
Friday – Swimming league finals and trials at Independence, time TBA

Saturday – Swimming league finals and trials at Independence, time TBA

Monday – Golf Central Coast Section playoffs begin, times and dates TBA
Monday – Badminton league finals begin, times and dates TBA

Wednesday – Softball vs. Leland, 3:30 p.m.

Thursday – Baseball vs. Prospect, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday – Boys’ volleyball Central Coast Section playoffs begin, times and dates TBA
Thursday – Track BVAL championships at Mt. Pleasant, time TBA

Pioneer Athletics: http://www.phsathletics.com/
Leland Athletics: http://www.lelandathletics.com/
Blossom Valley Athletic League: http://www.bval.org/

High School Scoreboard

April 26
Pioneer boys’ volleyball 25-7, 25-18, 25-16 loss at Leigh
Pioneer girls’ lacrosse 12-4 loss vs. Castilleja
Pioneer badminton 11-4 win vs. Branham

Leland badminton 12-3 win at Mitty
Leland golf 191-198 win vs. Pioneer
Leland girls’ lacrosse 15-8 loss vs. Gunn

April 27
Pioneer softball 4-1 loss vs. Leigh
Pioneer baseball 10-4 win at Independence

Leland golf 200-204 win vs. Pioneer
Leland baseball 7-2 win vs. Oak Grove
Leland softball 1-0 win vs. Santa Teresa

April 28
Pioneer badminton 10-5 win vs. Gilroy

Leland boys’ track 78-50 loss at Overfelt
Leland girls’ track 73-58 win at Overfelt
Leland badminton 12-3 win vs. Prospect

April 29
Pioneer softball 4-3 loss vs. Oak Grove
Pioneer boys’ track 68-59 loss vs. Evergreen
Pioneer girls’ track 97-24 loss vs. Evergreen
Pioneer girls’ swimming 137-37 win vs. Mt. Pleasant
Pioneer boys’ swimming 108-71 win vs. Mt. Pleasant

Leland boys’ tennis Mt. Hamilton Division Singles Finals win for Simon Cheng 6-0, 6-4
Leland boys’ tennis Mt. Hamilton Division Doubles Semifinals win for Thomas Norton and Stacey Klinger 6-0, 6-2
Leland boys’ tennis Mt. Hamilton Division Doubles Semifinal win (6-7, 6-4, 7-6) and Finals win (by forfeit) for Eric Banks and Osheen Davoudi
Leland girls’ swimming 107-76 win vs. Santa Teresa
Leland boys’ swimming 108-62 win vs. Santa Teresa
Leland baseball 5-0 loss at Leigh
Leland boys’ volleyball 25-23, 25-18, 25-20 win vs. Prospect
Leland softball 2-0 loss vs. Leigh

Sports Briefs

Giving credit where credit’s due
In the April 29 issue of the Almaden Times Weekly, three sports photos were not given proper photo credit. The three photos—“High School Scoreboard,” “A local Giant” and “Chargers shut out Mustangs in rematch”—were courtesy of Mike Janes. Pictures by Janes may be viewed at www.mikejanes.com.

San Jose to host Citywide Youth Track Meet
The city of San Jose, Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services and the San Jose Police Amateur Athletic Association are sponsoring a free track and field meet for boys and girls ages 9 to 14. The meet will take place on Sunday, May 22 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Evergreen Valley High School track, located on 3300 Quimby Road in San Jose.

Track events include the 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 meter, and 4 x 100 meter relay. Field events include the standing long jump and softball throw. Group one is for athletes born between 1995-1996; group two is for athletes born between 1993-1994; and group three is for athletes born between 1991-1992.

The event is a qualifier meet for the Nor Cal Hershey State Track and Field Meet held on Saturday, June 18, at San Jose City College, and is a stop on the road to the National Meet in Hershey, Pa.

Pre-registration is encouraged but not required. To obtain more information and registration forms, call the Citywide Sports Office at (408) 369-3900. Registration will also be accepted on the day of the event between 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

Almaden Ladybugs host soccer tryouts
Almaden Ladybugs Premier/Class 1, U17 girls, tryouts for sate cup and spring/fall season, every Tuesday and Thursday.  Date of birth after 7/31/88. Contact Roger Haupt (408) 779-7697, Linda Urzi (408) 723-0928. 

Leland High School Spirit Squad hosts Junior Spirit Camp June 20-24
Give me an “L!” The Leland Junior Spirit Camp will be held Monday, June 20 through Friday, June 24 from 9 a.m. to12 p.m. at the Leland High School Quad, 6677 Camden Ave., San Jose for students entering K-8 in fall of 2005. Age-appropriate cheers and routines. Daily snacks provided. Space is limited so sign up early. Early-bird registration of $100 ends June 1.

All participants invited to perform at a Leland High School football game.
Participants should wear comfortable clothing and shoes appropriate for athletics. Light jacket or sweater in case of cool weather (labeled with name) and bring a water bottle (labeled with name). Wear your sunscreen!

For more information on Leland Junior Spirit Camp, contact Angelica Niklowitz (408) 268-5549 or e-mail aniklowitz@yahoo.com.

Almaden Quicksilver holds soccer tryouts
Almaden Quicksilver Class 3, U12 girls, is holding tryouts for spring/fall season every Tuesday and Thursday. Date of birth must be after 7/31/93. Contact John (408) 323-8768 or john@politoski.com.

Youth soccer tryouts for Central Valley Edge
CV Edge, a Class 3/U17 girls’ soccer team, is offering Monday/Wednesday tryouts to girls born after 7/31/88 for the fall season for all positions. Contact Patty Rashid (408) 267-2740 or Afsari at (650) 771-6213 for more information.

Multi-disability meet comes to San Jose
Multi-Disability Athletes are encouraged to compete at Far West Games to earn points for U.S. national competitions. The City of San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services and Far West Wheelchair Sports sponsor this multi-sport, multi-disability meet. Events include boccia, track and field, aquatics, and 3-on-3 basketball.

The events will be held Thursday, May 19 through Saturday, May 21. Also, May 21 at San Jose City College, 2100 Moorpark Avenue, San Jose, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. is a boccia clinic; from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. the boccia and pentathlon; and from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. the 5000-meter. May 22 at San Jose City College, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. are field events; from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. are track events.

May 23 at Camden Community Center, 3369 Union Avenue, San Jose 95124, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is the three-on-three basketball event; from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. is swimming.

Youth and adults with disabilities may participate in the events. The cost is free for spectators. Competitors must pay a $60 registration fee to participate.

Leland boys’ volleyball drops 2nd annual Tiki Match 3-1 to Willow Glen

Chargers lose first Mt. Hamilton Division game amid interruption from rowdy crowd

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

For the second year straight, the Leland boys’ volleyball team missed capturing the elusive Tiki Trophy.

The Chargers battled the Willow Glen Rams in the second annual Tiki Match, dropping a 3-1 decision at home on April 28 by scores of 25-22, 19-25, 25-14 and 25-20.

“They came to play tonight,” Leland Head Coach Jason Hilbert said of Willow Glen. “Obviously they were ready for us. We had a good practice and I thought we were ready, but we didn’t execute.”

The Tiki Match, a rivalry game created by Hilbert and Willow Glen Head Coach Jef Wind in 2004, features a yearly Mt. Hamilton Division match up between both schools in their last game of the season. The prize—the Tiki Trophy—is a football-sized tiki statue attached to a plain square piece of plywood.

After Willow Glen took the inaugural Tiki Match in 2004, Leland looked to take the trophy on April 28 at home. The event also featured a pre-game ceremony honoring Leland’s seven varsity seniors—Chris Hong, Tommy Phan, Jonathan Luu, Derrick Truong, Arnold Won, Sam Lee and Bryan Holmdah.

“I’m definitely going to miss them next year,” Hilbert said. “Their leadership and skills; they’re going to be tough to replace.”

The match started out rocky for the Chargers (20-8, 12-1) as the Rams established an early 11-6 lead to open game one, with Willow Glen’s Andrew Veggian notched three kills during that span. After Leland cut the lead to 17-15 in the latter stages of game one, the Rams went on a 7-3 run getting kills from Tobin Chase and Jared Petite to go up 23-18. But before the Rams could close out the first game, the Chargers went on one last run, a 4-0 advantage to make the game a one-point contest once more, with the Leland front line stepping up on defense to block a pair of kill attempts and Luu registering his first kill of the night.

Willow Glen bounced back to take the match by scoring the final two points for a 25-22 win in game one and a 1-0 lead in the match.

Tense moments were seen both on the court and off for both teams. In the early stages of game two, fans from both sides appeared to get rowdy both verbally and physically with each other. The ruckus delayed the match by several minutes while Leland Athletic Director Chris Hansen urged fans to remain respectful toward each other over the public address system at Leland. After the situation settled down, Leland administrators kept close watch on the crowd, expelling rowdy students from their seats on a pair of occasions throughout the remainder of the contest.

“This game’s supposed to be about what’s right about high school athletics,” Hilbert said of the interruption in play by rowdy fans, “but when immaturity and stupidity show up, it’s unfair to the players and parents … It’s supposed to be a privilege to come to a match.”

Game two featured a much stronger showing from the Chargers, who held an early 10-4 lead when things got out of hand in the crowd. When play resumed, the Chargers continued to build on their lead, going up 16-7 on kills from Scott Lucas and Phan. After Leland built up a 20-12 lead, the Rams made a brief comeback, going on a 4-0 run that saw Chase register another kill, to cut Leland’s lead to four. Leland ended the match on a 5-3 run to tie the contest 1-1, getting kills from Phan and Truong to take game two by a 25-19 score.

The game-two win was all the Chargers could muster however, as the next two games, and the Tiki Trophy, went Willow Glen’s way. Game three saw the Rams up 16-10 before going on a 7-2 run for a commanding 23-12 lead.

After sandwiching a pair of kills from Phan in between a point for the Rams put the score at 24-14, the Chargers dropped game three on a tip from Alex Pelayo for a 25-14 Rams’ win.

“They came out more energized and stronger than us,” Phan said of the Rams. “We had trouble passing and we just fell apart.”

Game four was a tightly contested duel that saw the Rams up early 11-4 before establishing a 10-point lead midway through the contest at 18-8. The Chargers made a pair of significant runs toward the end of the contest to close the gap however, beginning with an 8-2 run to cut Willow Glen’s lead to 20-16. During that stretch, the Chargers got a pair of kills from Lucas and a tip from Hong.

After two consecutive points from the Rams set the score at 22-16, the Chargers made one last run, putting together a small 3-0 stretch that included a kill from Luu, to make it a three-point contest at 22-19. The Rams finished off the night however, and captured the Tiki Trophy again, by going on a 3-1 stretch, ending the 25-20 game-four win with a kill from Pelayo.

For Phan, losing on a night when he and the rest of his senior teammates were honored, coupled with losing their first league game against a rival, was a tough thing to deal with.

“I feel said because this was a huge crowd,” Phan said. “Everyone came out to support us and we let them down.”

No 2005 Silicon Valley Football Classic due to poor attendance last year

Bowl and city officials disappointed with NCAA decision

Despite a presentation to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) the Silicon Valley Football Classic (SVFC) announced recently that the bowl game held annually at San Jose’s Spartan Stadium was not re-licensed for the 2005 season due to poor attendance.

Last year’s game, which saw Northern Illinois defeat Troy State 34-21 in the fifth annual SVFC, has been classified as “The Perfect Storm,” forcing SVFC officials to battle a number of immense challenges, including: South Carolina and Clemson’s withdrawals from the eligible bowl contingent, which left the 28 existing bowls with only 57 bowl-eligible teams; the SVFC’s local conference partners, the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and Pac-10, who were unable to provide bowl-eligible teams; the match up of two At-Large teams who were unfamiliar to the local market; the tumultuous rain which drove away attendees on game day; and lastly, a stream of negative press leading up to Bowl week, all strongly impacted the SVFC 2004 game.

“We are truly disappointed in the NCAA’s decision to deny the Silicon Valley Football Classic a 2005 season,” said Chris Hutchins, executive director of the SVFC. “Our executive committee worked tirelessly over the last several weeks to present the NCAA with the positive and successful results that are associated with the Bowl. We were 100 percent committed to building upon last year’s successes, but unfortunately, attendance criteria became the deciding factor.”

During the last five years, the SVFC has generated more than $32 million for the South Bay during one of the slowest tourism weeks of the year.

“Since the first, the Silicon Valley Football Classic has contributed greatly to our community with significant economic, community and downtown benefits,” said San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales. “I appreciate all the hard work from so many people over the years to create what we all expected to become an outstanding San Jose tradition.”

In addition to its economic impact, the SVFC invested and gave back to the community. Last year, the SVFC teamed up with the After-School All-Stars of Greater San Jose (ASAS-GSJ), its official charity partner, hosting its first-ever Team Community Day. The SVFC was recently able to reaffirm its commitment to the community by presenting ASAS-GSJ with a $10,000 donation early this year.

The Silicon Valley Football Classic (SVFC) was conceived in 2000, to form an NCAA Division IA Football Bowl in San Jose. For more information on the SVFC, visit http://www.svfootballclassic.com.

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