The Cupertino Courier

Sports

All-stars begin District 44 tourney play

By Mike Barnhart

With more than 700 boys and girls from all 14 leagues and five divisions parading in their colorful uniforms around the diamond at Santa Clara University's Schott Stadium, the District 44 Little League celebrated the beginning of its all-star baseball season on June 28.

Many supporters began getting ready for All-Star Night festivities the day before, meeting together and decorating their cars.

"I am having so much fun," smiled Paula Mogliolo Fudally, the team mother of the Campbell major all-stars. "For some players, this is their 15 minutes of fame, and we want to make sure they have the time of their lives."

Many major division all-stars from throughout District 44 have been together since they were 8 years old.

"They have a special bond and they look forward to this time of year," Mogliolo Fudally noted, expressing sentiments shared by many parents. "For the 12-year-olds, this is the end of a special part of their lives. I am sure they will look back on these times with fond memories."

District 44's five double-elimination tournaments began with six major division games on June 29. Minor (ages 9-10), junior (13-14) and senior (15-16) play opened on June 30, and the 11's get under way on July 5. First-round major winners included Southern, Metro, Campbell, Tri-Cities and Moreland.

The rosters of the four Cupertino major division all-star teams follow:

Sunnyvale Serra

Majors: manager Kevin Lyon, coach Devin Joos, Kevin Convissar, Curtis Currier, Peter Esparza, Jeffrey Hardy, Ashnti Hunter, David Item, Pablo Lozano, Todd Matsuura, Ross Slaney, Casey Douglas, Lawson Joos, Justin Lyon.

Cupertino National

Majors: manager Anthony Rodrigues, coaches Brad Burrow and Ralph Donigan, Yoshito Kameda, Sam McCann, Peter Stern, Jordan Sheade, Austin Burrow, Ryo Matarai, Spencer Rodrigues, Ralph Donigan, Zane Karl, Jacob Maldonado, Brandon Hayes, Harsha Nukala, Nathan Schadle, Joey Shepard.

Tri-Cities

Majors: manager Albert Lum, Casey Cabrales, Adit Dhanushkodi, Max Dunn, Harrison Farnum, Dylan Lum, Matthew Workman, Yuya Yamamoto, Jesse Zhou, Youseph Pavlovic, Fumiya Otokozawa, Pano Athans, Sahil Bhargava, Geoffrey Lang.

Cupertino American

Majors: manager Ken Wallis, coaches Vince DeFrank and Dave Crowley, Austin Brady, Noah Calhoun, Naveed Chowdhury, Matt Crowley, Dustin DeFrank, Patrick Fredrick, Patrick Kim, Casey Lee, Kevin Tu, Marshall Varney, Gabe Wagner-Rosales, Tim Wallis, Ethan Wendler, Allen Yu.