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Dressman's homer lifts Los Gatos to Pony title
By Dick Sparrer
Dan Dressman had a memorable weekend on the mound for the Los Gatos 14-year-old all-stars in the Memorial Day Weekend Pony League tournament in Santa Clara.
But as impressive as he was as a pitcher, it was one swing of his mighty bat that created a memory that will last a lifetime for Dressman and his Los Gatos teammates.
Dressman lined a solo homer out of Lou Viera Field to lift Gatos to a thrilling 2-1 victory over host Santa Clara "A" in the tournament championship game.
The clubs were locked in a 1-1 tie through five innings, thanks in no small part to Dressman, the pitcher. The hurler tossed four strong innings for Los Gatos, striking out five and walking no one. He allowed just one hit and was touched for an unearned run in the fourth.
Adam Nelson came on to finish the game with three innings of shutout relief. He struck out five and walked just two.
Los Gatos had scored first in the game with a run in the first. Casey Furtado struck out, but raced to first when the ball got away from the catcher. He later scored on a single by Adam Crane.
Santa Clara tied it with the unearned run in the fourth, but Dressman, the hitter, put Gatos on top for good with his homer in the sixth. Nelson went on to nail down the victory.
Gatos opened the tournament with a lopsided 11-4 win over the Santa Clara "B" team.
Dressman went four strong innings to get the mound win. He struck out nine and walked just one while allowing only three hits. Bryan Schiefelbein finished up with three innings of solid relief.
Dressman was four-for-four with a pair of doubles to lead the bat attack for Gatos. He also swiped a pair of bases.
James Gentry homered and doubled in the win, and Nelson singled twice to drive in two runs. Furtado, Crane, Kyle Shafer, Schiefelbein and David Towson also had hits in the game.
Los Gatos came back to beat Santa Cruz 12-4 a game later. Nelson, Travis Howell and Crane combined for 10 strikeouts as they tossed Gatos to the victory.
Once again it was Dressman leading the bat attack with a homer and a double to knock in five runs. Gentry ripped his second homer of the tourney, and Furtado, Howell and Nelson each clubbed doubles.
Los Gatos played its second straight errorless game of the tournament in the win over Santa Cruz. Andy Betzina, Drew Bothman, Bret Cavanagh, Andrew O'Gorman and Alex Rollin all contributed defensively.
The defense fell apart a bit a game later, but Dressman came through blasted a game-winning homer to help Gatos pull out a 6-5 win over San Jose PAL.
Dressman broke a 5-5 tie with his solo homer in the sixth. He had come on as a pitcher in the fifth and blanked San Jose over the final three frames, striking out three of the eight batters he faced.
Los Gatos was up 5-0 early, but five errors led to a five-run fifth inning that allowed San Jose to tie the game.
Ryan Daily ripped a three-run double in the third that helped give LG the early lead. Crane and Howell also knocked in runs in the win.
Dressman's no-hitter
A week earlier, Dressman had tossed a no-hitter to lead the Yankees to a 10-0 win over the Marlins in the Los Gatos Pony League regular season.
Dressman fanned 14 in six innings of work, allowing just one baserunner on a walk. He also slapped a solo homer for the Yanks.
Nik Kay clubbed a two-run homer and also doubled in an eight-run sixth for the Yankees. Mark Helleboid had two hits, Matt Martini doubled and Luke Alioto, Nick Tom, Brett Millen and O'Gorman each singled.
Nelson tossed five strong innings for the Marlins, striking out 10.
Kay ripped a pair of homers, a three-run shot in the first and a two-run blast in the second, to lead the Yankees to a 10-4 win over the Braves.
O'Gorman and Steve Whitham each tripled in the win, and Dressman had a pair of hits. David Holtzman also had a single.
Rollin and Alex Kehriotis each doubled, and Carter Wallace and Jesse Fetke singled in the game for the Braves.
The Devil Rays scored seven runs in the third and four more in the fourth to turn back the Phillies 12-2.
Patrick Murphy singled twice and doubled, and Luke Harnal doubled and tripled to lead the Rays to the win. Ryan Presley tripled and singled. J.P. Grist had two hits, and Crane and Brian Ceglio each singled.
Towson smacked a solo homer and singled, and Russell Laubach ripped a double in the loss for the Phils. Patrick McDonald and Brandon Burks added singles.
Crane belted three singles and a double, and Murphy had three hits for the Devil Rays in a 15-10 win over the Giants. Grist singled and doubled in the win, and Harnal and Nick Gionfriddo added two hits apiece. Marc Ericson also had a hit for the Rays.
Shafer blasted a grand slam in the sixth for the Giants. Cavanagh had two hits, and Drew Bothman singled and doubled. Matt Rose ripped a double, and Jason Livingstone, Matt Hirakawa and Howell each singled.
Livingstone and Howell combined to toss a three-hitter for the Giants in a tight 4-3 win over the Braves.
Cavanagh and Rose each doubled twice in the win, and Bothman singled and doubled. Shafer had two hits, and Hirakawa singled.
Kehriotis tripled, Michael Robards doubled and Rollin singled for the Braves.
Gentry doubled and singled twice to help the Marlins pull out a 13-2 win over the Phillies. Nelson tripled for the Marlins, and Danny Politi had two hits. Will Biderman and Furtado each singled.
Pony standings
The Los Gatos Pony League standings (as of May 28): Yankees 14-3, Giants 10-7, Devil Rays 9-8, Braves 8-9, Marlins 6-11, Phillies 4-13
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
