By Dick Sparrer
Joe Sprutenberg finished the Los Gatos Pony League playoffs the same way he started--with a victory.
And because of it, the Reds finished the Pony playoffs with a 6-2 win over the Rangers in the league championship game.
It was a clutch single by Brent Thelen and a bases-loaded walk by Chris Denevi that keyed a four-run rally in the second inning that sparked the Reds to the title-clinching win.
Ben Winkleman singled and both stole second and third before scoring a run in the fourth to add a little insurance for the Reds. Nate Sweeters and Blake Sanfilippo walked and scored runs in the fifth for the Rangers to make it 5-2.
The Rangers threatened again in the sixth when Ryan Ouellet walked and T.J. Halpin singled, but the Reds worked out of the jam and went on to clinch the important victory.
The Reds had opened the playoffs with an 8-4 win over the Mariners. Sprutenberg was the winning pitcher, striking out seven and allowing just two runs and three hits over four innings.
Singles by Winkleman and Casey Neale helped the Reds rally for four runs in the sixth.
Alex Burda doubled home Joey Warren and later scored on a wild pitch to account for the Mariners' first two runs of the game.
The Rangers fought their way through the loser's bracket to get into the title game.
Simon Ormandy singled and scored a run in the fourth, but that was all the Rangers could manage in a 4-1 loss to the Braves.
Steve Chase tossed the Braves to the victory and John Vartanian delivered the key offensive blow, a double that drove home Kevin Krug and Adam Dallas in the fourth.
But the Rangers battled back for a tight 5-4 win over the Giants. Ben Shanker of the Rangers and Brenden Boitano of the Giants hooked up in a pitchers' duel through four innings before the Rangers moved in front in the fifth.
Nate Sweeters doubled and Mike Cook singled to key a three-run rally in the fifth. Ben Hall had doubled in a two-run rally in the first for the Rangers.
Gavlin Hernandez and Keiju Sotoh scored in the first for the Giants to tie the game 2-2, and that's how it remained until the fifth.
The Rangers broke the tie with their three in the fifth, but the Giants battled back. Beau Knight's single led to a run in the sixth and Mike Cismondi doubled and scored in the seventh to cut the lead to 5-4.
But Shanker finished with two strikeouts to nail down the important win.
The Rangers eliminated the Giants from the tournament with the win, and a game later they dropped the Orioles from the playoffs with a 15-2 victory. Cook was the winning pitcher for the Rangers and he helped himself at the plate with a home run and two triples.
The win sent the Rangers up against the Braves in a rematch. This time the Rangers came through with a 9-3 victory.
A double by Cook sparked a six-run rally in the fourth. Shanker, Ouellett, Halpin, Sweeters and Josh Adams all walked and scored in the rally.
Ryan Gagnet, Matt Bates and Dallas each walked and scored runs for the Braves.
The Orioles knocked the Mariners and Pirates out of the tournament before falling out of the playoffs with the loss to the Rangers.
Singles by Warren, Burda and Ben Frazier helped the Mariners rally for five runs in the first inning, but the O's came storming back.
Dan Reaugh belted his fifth homer of the year and Markus Willard slapped a pair of hits. Willard went three innings on the hill before giving way to his brother, Chris Willard, who went the final four frames to pick up the win.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, July 24, 1996.
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