They triumphed when Nick Hirschman, Nate Aguiar and Colin Chapman combined to pitch a 3-0 shutout over Saratoga on July 14. But they lost 12-2 the next day when four Los Gatos pitchers could not cool off the red-hot Cambrian Park all-stars in the District 12 semifinals.

Los Gatos' pitching rose to the occasion against Saratoga when they needed to win their final game of pool play to advance to the semifinals. Hirschman pitched three strong innings, Aguiar worked two and Chapman added one inning to give Los Gatos its third shutout and third victory of the tournament.

The offense provided the difference in the third inning when Kiko Alonso ripped an RBI double after Chapman drew a walk and Steve Zavodnick hit into a fielder's choice.

Los Gatos added to the 1-0 cushion with two more runs in the fifth when Hirschman and Geo Shannon scampered home on a wild pitch and Saratoga error.

Though Los Gatos could not deliver any clutch hits, the locals came away with yet another victory to close out pool play with a record of 3-1.

But Los Gatos' hope for another victory by way of a shutout was immediately erased when the local 'stars played Cambrian Park on July 15. Patrick Fletcher led off the bottom of the first with a soaring home run to left. Five batters later, Nick Jones made it 2-0 with a two-out RBI single up the middle. Jon Gonzalez then delivered the knockout blow by lining a three-run double to left-center.

As it turned out, Los Gatos would never be able to climb out of the 5-0 hole. Cambrian's Chris Mendoza kept the Gatos batters off-balance as he surrendered just two runs over five innings.

Los Gatos cut the lead to 6-2 in the third. Chapman bunted for a single and Zavodnick was hit by a pitch to spark the rally. Alonso nearly followed with a three-run homer to left, but the ball hooked foul by about 10 feet. Two batters later, Jake Scullion drew a walk to load the bases. Chris Bitter then leaned into an inside fastball from Mendoza to force in a run. Kyle Johnson followed with a single to right to knock in Los Gatos' second and final run.

Cambrian put the game out of reach with three runs in the third, one in the fourth and two in the fifth. Jones ended the game early by the 10-run rule in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single over the drawn-in center fielder's head.

"We just ran into a good hitting team," said Los Gatos manager Dan Kropp. "They're on a roll."

Cambrian entered the game boasting a 4-0 pool play record with victories over American (17-0), Willow Glen (10-0), Union (11-2) and Branham Hills (12-4).

Fletcher, Jones and Mendoza each went 2 for 2 and reached base three times for Cambrian Park.

Chapman and Johnson led Los Gatos with two hits each, while Zavodnick reached base twice the hard way—getting hit in his back and head by errant pitches. Bitter was also plunked twice and added a single to get aboard in each of his at-bats.

"These guys hung in there for the entire tournament," said Kropp. "Even the kids who didn't play that much held their heads high."