May 15, 2008

SPORTS

Leland baseball season ends, seniors say goodbye

The season that could have been

In an up and down season that saw more downs than ups, the Charger baseball squad closed out the regular season with a convincing win over Piedmont Hills 14-3.

The Pirates had won the first two games against the Chargers, but were no match for a team determined to go out with a win. Nearly everyone got into the act as Spencer Lanoue nearly hit for the cycle with a double, triple and homerun. He missed out by failing to get a single. Nate Jones went two for three with a double, a single and two walks. Jones also made a nice running catch in centerfield to take away sure extra bases from a Piedmont hitter. Trevor Marino knocked in a couple of runs with a solid shot to right center field. Will Boring and Trevor Dyer also had doubles for the Chargers.

The 2008 MHAL baseball season started out with such high hopes for the Charger baseball team. They started off 6-1 with a tournament championship at the Michael De Jesus Memorial tournament, and then started league play with a tie and win against Santa Teresa. The season that could have been, suddenly and slowly turned into one of the most frustrating seasons in Leland baseball in quite some time.

After the strong start, the team lost 16 of its next 25 games. They hung around awhile in league play flirting with getting into the backdoor of the playoffs but they could not get the important wins when they needed them most.

The future of the program looks to be positive with only losing six seniors. The team is young and has several players coming up from the JV squad that had a successful year placing second in league play.

“It was a tough year for sure. There were a lot of breaks that didn’t go our way in many games. When other teams in a similar position may have packed it in, our guys continued to battle. This was evident the last few games of the season when we gave both league leaders Leigh and Live Oak all they could handle, then finishing up with a big win at Piedmont. I’m proud of all the guys,” said coach Thompson.

Not to be forgotten are the seniors and other players who made their mark this year and represented Leland baseball well.

“Senior Nate Jones hit .344 with a .427 OBP and scored 10 runs. He was a four-year varsity starter, first team all league, and was a well-known commodity, so he basically had a league season where teams were not going to let Jones beat them. “I really was impressed with his ability to recognize this and start to take what teams were giving him, said Thompson. “You really saw a nice adjustment in his approach. Everyone would like to knock doubles into the left field gap and most hitters end up trying to force those issues and the result is weak ground balls to the left side, Nate did a great job of really driving the ball the other way and recognizing the big picture.

Sophomore Trevor Dyer hit .375 with a .515 OBP with a .542 Slugging percentage. Much like Jones, Dyer is a feared hitter in this league, and teams were just not going to give in and let him beat them; he had four intentional walks, which probably led the league. Also like Jones, he took what the opponents gave him, which in a lot of cases was a free pass as he tied for the team lead in walks with 16. 

Junior Will Boring had a lot on his plate with his first full season at catcher, the most important spot on the field, and yet still managed to hit .321 in League play with 10 RBI's. He had two of the biggest hits of the season in two wins over Pioneer. In both wins against Pioneer, Boring had two run singles with two outs.    

Senior Drew Marino led the team in homeruns, RBIs and Slugging percentage in league play. He hit five home runs with 17 RBI in league action with a .578 Slugging percentage, and he probably was hurt the most by our park, he hit a lot of balls on the barrel in the air that just died, that might have been doubles or home runs in other parks.  

Senior Kevin Krail probably led the league in stolen bases as he had 17 in league action (he ended up with 25 overall just short of the school record). He also led the team in runs scored with 16. 

Senior Spencer Lanoue was second on the team in homeruns and RBIs (3-15) and tied for the team lead in base on balls with 16. Senior pitcher/outfielder Cam O’Halleran played solid at both positions and made the most of his opportunities throughout the year. Junior pitcher Gregg Hipwell really emerged as a No.1 starter over the last month of the season.  He finished the league season with three wins and a 1.65 earned run average (ERA).  Despite getting off to a late start because of a bad back, Hipwell led the league effort with 27 strikeouts, over twice as many as the No.2. “ In addition, over the last month or so you really saw some growth and confidence coming for players like sophomores Trevor Marino, Taylor Ronsvalle, Vinnie Gemette and junior Wes Deimling,” Thompson said.

As surely as spring will roll around again, the baseball program will be out to prove that they are a force to be reckoned with once again.

Almaden Ghostbusters win national basketball championship

The Almaden Valley NJB chapter’s Sixth Grade Girls AllNet basketball team, GhostBusters, won five straight victories to take the National Junior Basketball title.

The Ghostbusters relax after winning the championship. In the front row, from the left are Nina Mandracchia, Adriana Piazza, Sandy Liang, Caeli Harr and Sabrina Sherrin. The middle row, from the left are Christine Dong, Nicole Johnston, Gabbie Sanfilippo and Kristin Pitzen. The back row contains coaches Greg Pitzen, Sal Mandracchia and Greg Johnston.

The road to first place in the Rawling’s Division of the NJB tournament was a straight path for the GhostBusters from wire to wire in every game. The first four games by the Almaden Valley sixth grade girls invoked the ‘mercy’ rule starting the fourth period (if a team is ahead by 20 points in the fourth quarter, the game time becomes a running clock). The final victory over the Hanford, Calif. team for the championship was by a margin of 13 points.

AllNet basketball is a competitive category of the NJB program. All-Net supports players with advanced skill, higher interest in the sport and an eye for a high school future in basketball. The rules follow the CIF High School standard with the addition of a ‘mercy’ rule. Four, eight-minute periods make up the game and the clock stops on all whistles (except for an active mercy rule). There were three referees for the championship game.

The team was led by two point guards, Nicole Johnston and Kristin Pitzen, who have been teammates in the NJB basketball program since third grade. As interchangeable point and shooting guards, they beat man-to-man and zone defenses alike on pick and roll and give and go’s. The pair accounted for 44 percent of the team’s points.

Gabriella Sanfilippo and Weishan (Sandy) Liang were point and shooting guards respectively. Gabby’s speed placed pressure on the opponents leading point player and she often took outlet passes coast-to-coast for layup baskets. Sandy’s defense and anticipation led to many turnovers and her midrange shooting was a foundation for the team’s offense. Unfortunately, Brianna Martin, shooting guard, did not make the trip.

Christine Dong, Adriana Piazza and Sabrina Sherrin were the GhostBuster’s power forwards. Christine anchored the defense on the outside wing of the full court press and down low in the 2-3 zone defensive formation. She also provided valuable offensive rebounds and put-backs. Her mid-range shot off the dribble gave hers many scoring opportunities. Adriana forced opponent turnovers on transition from her pressure defense. Her offensive range drew the defense outward. Sabrina played power defense. Her assignments put the opponent’s center under tough pressure and out of their game. She shot from the outside baseline.

Center position was played by Nina Mandracchia and Caeli Harr. Nina jumped the start of the game and worked the center of their zone defense plus bodied the opponent’s big girl. She excelled at rebounds at both ends of the court. Her offense was balanced in shots and assists. Caeli pulled rebounds and looked for quick transition breaks or dribbled out of pressure when passing lanes were not open. She played the center of the 2-3 zone and denied easy baskets.

The GhostBusters finished league play with a 10 and 2 record. Following the league games, the tournament phase begins to determine the national champion. The Ghostbusters performed well and qualified to represent Almaden Valley’s NJB chapter in Irvine Calif. for the National Tournament in the second division, ‘Rawlings.’ Regular season Coach Art Fonda could not make the tournament and passed the reins to veteran Coach Greg Pitzen. Pitzen chose long-time coaching partner, Greg Johnston to support the team in Nationals.

Eleven teams competed in three Pools for the AllNet Girls sixth grade bracket. Each Pool played games on Saturday to determine their standings for play and position on Sunday. GhostBusters remained in the winner’s bracket throughout the tournament.

The GhostBuster opponent’s in the championship game were the Hanford Allstars. The Hanford team made it to the final game with impressive scoring. Throughout the tournament the coaches played a three-guard formation with a power forward and a big. After an offensive play, the GhostBuster’s go immediately to defense, full court. The pressure led to 8 points after forced turnovers. The team system applies full court pressure until the lead would build to 20 and then fall back to half court. However, the final game drew the most work from the players. A team benefit was a strong bench through all positions that enabled end-to-end defensive intensity with steady substitutions.

During the first quarter, the coaches made a GhostBuster system adjustment to keep the ball out of Hanford’s best player’s hands. The assignment was effectively handled by Gabbie, Sandy or Kristin. With two minutes left in the game, the Hanford Allstars put their second team on the floor. At the game ending whistle, GhostBusters, coaches and parents rushed the court, proud and victorious. The drive back to San Jose was easy.

Sports Briefs

Go 4 Gold Soccer School
Go 4 Gold Soccer School presents its 2008 Summer Soccer Camps program. We offer week long, coed soccer camps for players age 5 - 16 in both San Jose and Los Gatos, coached by our staff of highly trained, certified professionals. Go 4 Gold also offers year round GoalKeeping & Field Player Academies every Sunday from 5 – 7 p.m.

For a camp schedule, locations or additional information, please call 997-7775 or visit www.go4goldsoccer.com.

Leland Junior Spirit Camp sign-ups
The Leland High School Spirit Squad is hosting its annual Junior Spirit Camp June 16 - 20 from 9 am to noon each day. The early bird camp registration fee is $120, increasing to $140 on June 1. The camp will offer instruction in cheers and dances along with games, arts and crafts and snacks for children entering K-8 in the fall of 2008. All campers will be invited to perform at a Leland High School football game in the fall. For more information or an enrollment form please contact lelandjsc@gmail.com or Jeanne Sommer at 472-6112.

Almaden Force Boys U16 Soccer tryouts
Almaden Force is a U16 Select Boys Soccer Team that will be holding tryouts Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 – 7 p.m. through the end of May at San Jose State University, behind Spartan Stadium, off of 10th street. For additional information, contact Team Manager Angelo Gallo at 314-2732.

U11 Girls Class 1 Soccer Tryouts
Santa Clara Sporting 97G White, a girls U10 Class 1 soccer team that will be playing U11 in the Fall, will be holding an open tryout session on Saturday, May 17, 2008 from 2:00–3:30 p.m. at Jenny Strand Park in Santa Clara. For more information and to register, please contact coach Dave Ballard at daveballard12@sbcglobal.net or 408-799-1213.

AVAC hosts twelfth annual tennis tourney fundraiser
Almaden Valley Athletic Club invites community members to watch or participate in the 2008 AVAC NTRP Doubles Classic Tournament on May 23-26 at their facility, 5400 Camden Avenue in San Jose. Matches will begin at 5 p.m. on May 23; 8 a.m. May 24 and May 25; and at 9 a.m. on May 26.

This will be the 12th consecutive year that AVAC hosts the tournament, with 50 percent of the proceeds benefiting the National Tennis Championships (“NTC”). NTC is a non-profit corporation that organizes both the USTA Girls’ 18 National Championships in Berkeley and the After-School All-Stars offered through the San Jose Unified School District.

Named a ‘USTA NorCal Tournament of the Year’ for the tenth time, this event charges no admission to spectators and is open to the entire community. For more information about the tournament or competition eligibility, please visit, http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/tournamenthome/tournament.aspx?T=59583 or visit the Almaden Valley Athletic Club website at www.avac.us.

AVYSL Registration is now open
Registration for the Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League’s Recreation Program for fall 2008 is open from April 21 to May 31. Late registration will be from June 1 – 15, and will only be accepted if space is available. A non-refundable fee of $25 will be charged for each player registered during late registration, so please register on time.

See our website www.almadensoccer.org for registration instructions and some exciting changes to our fall program. We hope to see you on the soccer field this fall.

Evergreen Valley Soccer summer camps
EVS will be offering two soccer camps this summer. Sessions begin June 22 -26, with the All Girls Academy. The Academy is designed to help players develop all aspect of their game and topics will include: Ball mastery / Beginning and intermediate technical skills / Small-sided games / Offensive and defensive team tactics / Training for speed, agility, quickness.

Eligible girls are ages 8 – 17 and the fee is $145 per person (team discounts are available). Academy hours are 4 – 7 p.m.

The “Little Hawks” Academy is designed for players age 5 – 8 and focuses on having fun while learning new soccer skills. Coached by members of the EVC Men’s and Women’s Soccer Team, campers will participate in a variety of soccer games and activities. Session one is Aug. 4, 6 & 7 and Session two is Aug. 11, 13 &14. The fees are $90 fro one session, $140 for both. Hours are 9 – 11 a.m.

For additional information or to register, call Felicia Perez at 274-7900 x6910 or email Felicia.Perez@evc.edu.

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