But Gatos coach Brad Sanfilippo got more than he bargained for--he didn't just get three starts, he got three brilliant pitching performances out of his Wildcats.

Kyle Blair and Derek Thomas opened the week with back-to-back pitching gems in victories over Wilcox and Los Altos, and senior Ryan Kiel finished up with a clutch five-inning performance in a Saturday win over Cupertino.

The three wins helped the Wildcats wrap up the first round of the season in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League undefeated and alone in first place.

Los Gatos edged Wilcox 2-1, blanked Los Altos 8-0 and handled Cupertino 5-2 to improve its league record to 6-0. The Wildcats enter the second round of the league season with a two-game lead over the rest of the pack since Wilcox, Palo Alto and Milpitas all have two De Anza losses.

"We feel very fortunate to be 6-0 right now," said Sanfilippo. "This is a very tough league."

The Cats face a tough test this week when they visit Wilcox on March 30, 3:30 p.m., for a key league game. Gatos returns home to face Cupertino on April 1, then is back on the road for a game at Milpitas on April 4.

When the two teams met last week at Wilcox, Marty Mullins set the tone early for the Cats when he blasted the second pitch of the game over the left field fence for a solo homer.

Gatos scored again in the second when Blair singled, stole second, took third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Carlos Alonso.

That would turn out to be all Blair needed for the win.

The sophomore right hander tossed a 4-hitter, giving up just a single run in the third, as he went the distance for the win. Blair, 2-2 for the year, struck out eight in the game and walked just one.

"Kyle just threw unbelievably well," said Sanfilippo. "That's the best he's been all year. He was overpowering."

The sophomore also led a 6-hit attack for Los Gatos with a pair of singles. Singles by Mark Johnson, Justin Schafer and Evan Bolton and the homer by Mullins rounded out the attack.

Thomas took over the hill later in the week, and the senior southpaw was impressive. Thomas combined with sophomore Matt Ellis to flip a 4-hit shutout to run his season record to 5-0. Thomas gave up just two hits over six innings before Ellis came on to pitch the seventh.

Los Gatos supported the hurler with three runs in the second and five in the third to take a commanding lead early in the game.

Jeremy Bays tripled to get things started in the second. Blair drove him home with a single before Mullins doubled. Two outs later, Johnson drilled a clutch double down the left field line to drive in two runs.

The Cats added five more in the third. Blair and Johnson each ripped run-scoring singles in the rally.

The Wildcats improved to 10-2 for the year on the strength of a solid performance by Kiel, who combined with Blair to whirl a 3-hitter in a 5-2 win over Cupertino. Kiel went five innings to get the win, pushing his record to 2-0, and Blair finished up to get his first save of the year.

The Pioneers actually took the early lead with a run in the second. But the Cats scored two in the fifth, matched Cupertino's single run in the sixth and added two insurance runs in the seventh. Michael Brienzo started the rally in the fifth with a single and he took second on a balk. Alonso dropped a sac bunt to move Brienzo to third, and Schafer singled him home. Johnson followed with a hit before Michael Gault slapped a run-scoring single to give the Cats the 2-1 lead.

Gatos added another run in the sixth. Blair was hit by a pitch and raced to third on a hit-and-run single by Brienzo. Alonso came through with another "clutch at-bat," said Sanfilippo, with a run-scoring ground ball.

Singles by Johnson and Gault and sac flies by Mullins and Bays gave the Cats two insurance runs in the seventh, then Blair put down the Pioneers one-two-three in the bottom of the seventh.

"Good teams find a way to win, and we found a way to win this one," said Sanfilippo. " I couldn't be happier."

Three softball wins

The Los Gatos girls softball team also won three games last week, blanking Los Altos 13-0 in league play before topping Half Moon Bay 2-1 and Branham 2-0 in the Circle of Champions Tournament at the Twin Creeks Sports Complex.

Junior hurler Brianna Smith tossed a 2-hit shutout in the Wildcats' 13-0 win over the Eagles. Smith struck out nine in the win.

Senior Desiree McEntee was swinging the big bat for the Cats with a home run and a triple to drive in four runs.

Smith came back to fire a 4-hitter and struck out 11 as she ran her season record to 5-4 in the 2-1 win over Half Moon Bay. McEntee doubled as the Wildcats evened their season record at 6-6.

Earlier, sophomore Lindsay Zullo tossed a 5-hit shutout for the Cats in a 2-0 win over Branham. Amy Highstreet had a hit and a walk to lead Los Gatos offensively.

Los Gatos is at Milpitas on March 30, 3:30 p.m., before playing in the Wilcox Mission City Invitational on April 1­2 at Mission College.