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Cats out for revenge against Monta Vista
By Dick Sparrer
It's not too early in the season for the Los Gatos baseball team to be seeking a little revenge. Sure, the Wildcats have yet to make one full pass through the field in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, but the Cats are already slated to go head-up against a team they lost to just last week in the league race--Monta Vista.
Los Gatos dropped a tough 8-5 decision to the Matadors last Friday afternoon. Monta Vista spoiled a brilliant Gatos comeback with three runs in the top half of the seventh inning. So when the two clubs meet again on March 22, 3:30 p.m., the Cats would like nothing better than to even things up with the Matadors.
Gatos will take a 1-3 league record into the Wednesday afternoon game at Monta Vista. The Mats are also 1-3 in division play.
Los Gatos opened league play by losing to Milpitas, then washed away an entire week for the Cats. They returned to the diamond to make up a wash-out against Fremont, and the Wildcats nailed their first win of the league season with a tight 4-3 win over the Firebirds.
Things didn't go quite as well a couple of days later against Wilcox. The Cats, like most clubs in the division, were pounded by the Chargers 14-1. Wilcox had crushed Cupertino 16-1 earlier in the week.
Wilcox is the club that Gatos coach Don Ardissone figures to be the top contender for the division title this spring.
Still, the Wildcats managed to sandwich the tough loss to Wilcox with a pair of solid performances.
Matt Swanson tossed six strong innings and Steve Chase finished up to get the Wildcats a win over Fremont to open the week. The two hurlers combined for a two-hitter. Swanson, a 6-foot-6 right-hander, nailed his first win of the year and Chase, a southpaw, came on to get his first save.
Chase singled and doubled to lead a five-hit attack for the Cats, but it was a two-run single by Steve Sweeney in the sixth that clinched the win for Los Gatos.
The Firebirds jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with two runs in the first, but Gatos tied it with single runs in the second and fifth.
Sweeney broke the tie with his two-run single in the sixth, and Gatos held on despite a run by Fremont in the top of the seventh.
The win evened Los Gatos' record at 1-1, but Wilcox knocked the Cats back below .500 with the 14-1 victory on Wednesday.
Gatos slipped to 1-3 in league play and to 2-8 for the year in the 8-5 loss to Monta Vista on Friday. But the Cats certainly didn't go down without a fight.
Frank Alioto blasted a home run and singled to lead the Cats at the plate. Chris Denevi and Matt Torres had two hits apiece and Joey Warren drove in two runs.
The Mats, like the Firebirds earlier in the week, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Monta Vista made it 3-0 with a run in the third, but Gatos answered with a run in the home half of the frame.
Monta Vista picked up two in the top of the sixth to lead 5-1, but Gatos unloaded for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to knot the game at 5-5.
The Matadors, though, rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh and held on to record the 8-5 victory.
The Cats were to face Fremont on March 8, but rain postponed that game to last Monday. Gatos was also to face Saratoga on March 10, but rain forced that contest to be reslated to April 10 at Saratoga.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
