A's win it all in major division
But lose in the first round of the TOC
By Dick Sparrer
The A's had half of it, but they wanted it all.
And that's just what they got with a 3-1 win over the Padres in the championship game of the Los Gatos Little League major division tournament.
The A's had won the regular season title with a 13-5 record, then backed that up with a championship showing in the league tournament.
Danny Sullivan sparked the A's to the title-clinching win in the tourney when he tossed a one-hitter for the victory. Sullivan struck out 14 in the win, and took a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth.
The A's were up 3-0 heading into the last of the sixth. Brett Krouskup worked Sullivan for a two-out walk, then took second on a passed ball. David Pavicich followed with a run-scoring single that spoiled the no-hitter and the shutout.
Nate Dreesman walked to put the tying run on base. But just when it looked like the Padres might be threatening, Sullivan struck out the last batter to nail down the win.
Photograph by Grant Wernick
Los Gatos hurler Blake Dietrich battles against Willow Glen in the first round of District 12's Toc.
The A's had taken the early lead with a run in the second when Blake Dietrich walked and scored on a double by Brett Havens.
The champs upped their lead to 3-0 with a couple of runs in the third. Matt Ellis walked, moved to second on a passed ball and scored on a single by Stephen Stege. Stege then came around to score when he stole second, took third when the catcher's throw flew into center field and scored when the throw back to the infield skipped past the third baseman.
Charlie Denues came on to pitch for the Padres and shut down the A's the rest of the way. But despite his three shutout innings, the A's had enough of cushion to nail down the win and the championship. The A's went on to represent Los Gatos in the District 12 Tournament of Champions, but lost their opener 3-2 to the Indians of the Willow Glen Little League. The Indians went on to win the TOC crown.
The A's were down 3-0 after three innings, but battled back with single runs in the fourth and sixth to make it close.
Sullivan led off the sixth with a double and raced home on a single by Blake Dietrich that cut the Willow Glen to 3-2. Matt Ellis beat out a bunt single, and Willow Glen changed pitchers.
Nick Kalpin worked the relief pitcher for a walk to load the bases with no outs.
Willow Glen went the bullpen again, this time calling on ace Danny Dyer, who the Indians had hoped to save for another game. Dyer proceeded to strike out the side to clinch the win for Willow Glen.
The A's had touched WG for a run in the fourth when Sullivan walked, took second on a passed ball and scored on a single by Ellis.
That run set the stage for the rally in the sixth, but the A's would come up a run short.
Dietrich and Kyle Blair handled the pitching chores for the A's, who were without the services of Sullivan because of his complete-game effort earlier in the week.
Members of the championship A's team included Brandon Barnett, Blair, Jackson Dallas, Dietrich, Ellis, John Gallien, Brett Havens, Bryan Johnson, Kalpin, Nik Nowak, Stege and Sullivan. The team's manager was Sean Sullivan and the coaches were Mel Blair, Cliff Peterson and Mark Ellis.
LG all-stars
The Los Gatos Little League has announced the names of the 2000 all-stars, who will soon begin competition in District 12 tournament play. All-star teams include:
12-year-olds-- Derek Thomas, Danny Sullivan, Marty Mullins, Rusty Wall, Matt Perrone, Justin Schafer, Forest Gallien, Nate Dreesman, Jason Stein, Danny Frey, A.J. Comeau, Jake Walker and Brett Krouskup; manager, Dan Kropp; coaches, Randy Frey and Brad Krouskup.
11-year-olds-- Kyle Blair, Will Kapp, Noah Henry, Colby Moore, Eric McDonald, Bricklin Foley, Woody Wilkerson, Ben Hintz, Stephen Stege, Mitchell Benedetti, Matt Ellis, Daniel Norvelle and Sean Wasserman; manager, Bob Moore; coaches, Bo Hintz and Mike Wasserman.
10-year-old A team-- Nick Kalpin, Niki Chow, Danny Politi, K.C. Silva, Tim Trobbe, Garrett Blackwell, Mikey Denevi, Robbie Comeau, Nick Elias, Blake Morrison, Danny Wall and Jackson Dallas; manager, Mike Denevi; coaches, Mike Silva and Tim Blackwell.
10-year-old B team-- Lucas DeMilo, Ryan McKinley, Michael Shawhan, Kyle Showden, Ali Zahrieh, Kevin Connelly, Bobby Tondreau, Blake Mitchell, Caleb Larson, Matthew Berg, Kevin Danser, Chris Shelton and Matt Fumia; manager, Tom Connelly.
9-year-olds-- Nathan Burke, Chris Bitter, Kyle Weiss, Chris LaBouff, Kyle Johnson, Brett Litle, Jake Scullion, Jason Brien, Travis Bonner, Geo Shannon, Sammy Garber, Jeff Clark and Steven Zavodnick; manager, Steve Zavondnick.
8-year-olds-- Todd Erickson, Luke Politi, Billy Cardia, Andy Furia, Corey Lanagan, Colin Chapman, Nick Hirschman, Matthew Calhoun, Sean Collns, Andrew Salazar, Hendee Wall, Sam DeFever, Harrison Chadwick and Derek Rodrigues; manager, Ken Rodrigues.
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