Shanker tosses the Wildcats to first league win of season

By Dick Sparrer

Ben Shanker was just about the only pitcher Los Gatos had left last Friday afternoon.

Steve Chase had gone the distance earlier in the week in a loss to Fremont, so he wasn't available. And Mike Cook and Mike Harris are due back from injuries soon, but they weren't available on Friday.

So Gatos coach Joe Winstead and Wayne Senini handed Shanker the baseball on Friday afternoon against Homestead and hoped for the best.

And that's just what the sophomore righthander gave them. Shanker fired a 2-hitter to lead the Wildcats to a 6-3 win over the Mustangs. The sophomore fanned six, walked two and hit two batters.

"Shanker threw a real good game against Homestead," said Senini after the win. "He did a good job and pitched really well."

Shanker blanked the Mustangs for four innings before getting touched for a run. But in the meantime, the Cats had staked him to a 3-0 lead.

Jeff Ouellet started a three-run rally in the third with a lead-off double. Shanker singled him to third and Brandon Fennema walked to load the bases.

Cook singled home two runs and Andy Housley plated a third run with a ground out to shortstop.

The Mustangs picked up a run in the fifth, but the Cats got that one back and one more in the home half of the inning.

Shanker singled, took second on a passed ball and scored when Fennema singled down the right field line. Housley forced Fennema at second, but Mike Geddie ripped a run-scoring double to make it 5-1.

Homestead scored two in the sixth, but Gatos answered with a run of its own when Joe Warren singled and later scored when Shanker reached on an error.

Shanker, Fennema and Cook each had two hits in the win for the Cats and Ouellet and Geddie each doubled. Warren and Brandon Chapatte added singles.

Los Gatos, 1-2 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League and 3-4 for the year, had opened the week suffering a tough 8-6 loss to Fremont.

The Cats trailed 5-0 early, but tied it with three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth.

A single by Fennema, a double by Cook and sacrifice flies by Housley and Geddie tied the game in the fifth. But Fremont scored three in the sixth to go up 8-5.

Gatos threatened in the seventh. Shanker doubled, and Fennena knocked him home on a ground out. Cook followed with a single, and Housley walked to put the potential tying run on base. But the runners were left stranded.

Cook singled and doubled, and Shanker and David Pearl each doubled for the Wildcats. Fennema, Housley, Chapatte and Warren added singles.

The Cats will hit the road to face Wilcox on March 17 and Cupertino on March 19 in a pair of 3:30 p.m. games.

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