Panthers end title race with two wins
Del Mar still battles for second place
By Dick Sparrer
There is no title race in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League this spring ... the Prospect baseball team has seen to that.
But there is one heck of a race still brewing for second place in the circuit. And the importance of the runner-up spot in the division? It brings with it an automatic berth in the Central Coast Section playoffs. And there are still four teams left with a shot at that prize as the season heads into the final two weeks.
Mt. Pleasant leads the pack of four with a 9-6 record, but Del Mar sits just a half game back at 8-6. Pioneer and Piedmont Hills are each 7-8, and both still have an outside shot at second.
Del Mar pulled to within a half game of second place with a 7-2 win over Piedmont Hills last week; then the Pirates did the Dons a favor by beating Mt. Pleasant twice on Friday--once in a regular season game, and again in the completion of game suspended earlier in the year.
The two wins helped get Piedmont back in the hunt for second, and wins by Pioneer over Del Mar and Overfelt helped the Mustangs remain alive in the fight for the playoffs.
The Dons could clinch second place in the division if they can win out through their final four games, but that will be no easy task. Del Mar entertains first-place Prospect on May 1; then, after hosting Overfelt on May 3 and visiting Independence on May 8, the Dons visit Mt. Pleasant on May 10. All games begin at 3:30 p.m.
The Dons pulled out a clutch win on Wednesday, beating Piedmont Hills 7-2. Greg Myers went the distance on the hill, scattering nine hits to pick up the pitching win. He is now 2-0 for the year.
Eric Martin singled and homered to knock in a couple of runs for the Dons. Seth Williams and Matt Barrera each ripped two-run doubles in Del Mar's six-run rally in the fifth that broke the game open.
Prospect clinched the Santa Teresa championship with two wins last week. The Panthers ripped Pioneer 11-1 and came back with an 8-4 win over Independence.
Prospect is now 13-1 in the division, with just four games left to play. The Panthers hold a four and a half game lead over second-place Mt. Pleasant and a five game lead over Del Mar.
Steve Vidal had a big week on the mound for the Panthers. The right-hander tossed a two-hitter in the 11-1 win over the Mustangs, and he came back in relief on Friday to get the save in the 8-4 win over the 76ers.
The Panthers supported Vidal with nine hits and took advantage of eight Pioneer errors to nail the five-inning win on Wednesday. Vidal gave up a run in the first, but blanked the Mustangs over the final four frames as the Prospect offense went to work.
Lead-off hitter J.D. Mazzuca singled and doubled to knock in two runs and Kevin McPeck singled and doubled to lead a nine-hit attack for the Panthers. Steve Kong added two hits in the win and Brent Maselli doubled.
The clubs matched single runs in the first, but the Panthers rallied for three in the second and two in the third, then clinched the win with five in the fifth.
Maselli ripped a solo homer and Mazzuca ripped a two-run triple to lead the Panthers to the 8-4 win over the Sixers later in the week. Kyle Bonvechio and Steve Kinney had two hits apiece in the win.
Aaron Jacks was the winning pitcher, pushing his mound mark to 4-2, and Vidal came on in relief to get his first save of the season. The two hurlers combined for a six-hitter.
Prospect is now 16-5 for the year.
Over in the Mt. Hamilton Division, Westmont lost twice last week to slip to 2-11 in the division and 7-14 for the year.
The Warriors lost 6-1 to Leigh, then dropped a 3-1 nod to Willow Glen. Matt Mills ripped a pair of hits for Westmont in the loss to the Longhorns, and Brandon Rose had two hits in the loss to the Rams.
Campbell, California
