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The Branham Hills Bobby Sox 10-and-under all-stars are playing in the national tournament in Buena Park, Calif., this week. Members of the team include (front row, l-r) Justine Thompson, Katherine Pisano, Jessica Freedman, Susie Condon, Megan Medefesser and Brooke O'Brien; (middle row, l-r) Christianna Stewart, Alexa Galusha, Whitney Terry, Alison Fivecoat, Coley Woyak and Megan Regan; and (back row, l-r) coach Drew Medefesser, coach Shelly Duits, chaperone Cindy Freedman and manager Beth Woyak.
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Sox 'stars win national berth
By Dick Sparrer
For kids, there's nothing like a summer trip to Southern California. There's Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knott's Berry Farm and many more attractions of interest to children. But a group of young girls from the area are in Southern California this week, and they have more than amusement parks on their minds... they're thinking national championship.
The girls, members of the Branham Hills Bobby Sox 10-and-under all-star team, are in Buena Park, Calif., playing in the Bobby Sox National Championship Tournament that runs July 30-Aug. 6.
Susie Condon, Megan Medefesser and Brooke O'Brien of Los Gatos are members of the Branham Hills team that also includes Justine Thompson, Katherine Pisano, Jessica Freedman, Christianna Stewart, Alexa Galusha, Whitney Terry, Alison Fivecoat, Coley Woyak and Megan Regan. The team's manager is Beth Woyak, and her coaches are Drew Medefesser of Shelly Duits, both of Los Gatos, and the team chaperone is Cindy Freedman.
Branham Hills qualified for the trip south by winning the district championship in tournament play in San Lorenzo July 17-18. They crushed Palo Alto 12-1 and edged Newark 4-3 to advance to the tournament finals, then destroyed Newark 14-2 in the championship game.
Medefesser's three-run double in the first inning sparked a 12-run rally in the first inning against Newark, and all the damage was done with two outs.
Branham loaded the bags with two walks and a single, but there were two outs when Medefesser stepped to the plate. Her double cleared the bags, and Branham went on to score nine more runs in the rally, with Freedman and Thompson delivering key hits.
Woyak and Galusha teamed up to pitch Branham Hills to the championship win.
Girls from Los Gatos, Saratoga and parts of San Jose are players in the Branham Hills Bobby Sox Softball League. The league serves girls ages 5-15 and plays its home games at Alta Vista School in Los Gatos.
Magic wins berth
In other local softball news, the Los Gatos-Saratoga 10-and-under Magic "B" girls fast-pitch softball team has qualified for a berth in the Western Regional Nationals to be played Aug. 12-15 in Aurora, Colo. The tournament features the top 32 teams from the 11 western states.
The Magic earned its place in the nationals by posting a 27-8 season record in tournaments played throughout the summer in the Northern California area. They won the Burlingame and Watsonville tournaments, and placed second at the Monterey Tournament. The local club also finished third in the San Carlos, Millbrae and San Jose tournaments.
Members of the team include Anita Athavale, Kristy Barker, Jenna Battaglia, Allison Bushmi, Soula Ellenkiotis, Kristan Garfield, Brianna Galt, Kelsey Hodge, Samantha Mason, Liz Rose, Monica Rude, Chelsey Seagraves and Monica Thomas. The coaches are Dick Hodge, Tony Ellenkiotis, Cindy Battaglia and Ken Barker.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
