Willow Glen, California Since 1992
Sports
White Sox second in District 12 TOC ByDick Sparrer The White Sox are having a pretty good year in the American League's Central Division, but Chicago's Sox are still trailing the Minnesota Twins by a good nine games. In Willow Glen, though, the White Sox have had a little better year. The Sox of the Willow Glen Little League won the major division championship in the circuit. Then they backed that up by finishing second in the District 12 Tournament of Champions (TOC). After winning the Willow Glen championship, the White Sox opened the TOC with tight wins over rival Lincoln Glen and Branham Hills before losing to tournament host Almaden in the finals. The Sox opened the TOC with a 3-1 win over Lincoln Glen. The clubs were locked in a 1-1 tie after an inning, but Willow Glen rallied for two runs in the fourth to all but clinch the win. Hits by Jose Basurto, Max Martinez and Blake Gingerich followed walks to Kyle Hillebrecht and Darius Ghani to account for the two runs. Gingerich was the winning pitcher for the White Sox, blanking Lincoln Glen over the final five innings. First sacker Steven Bohn and catcher Basurto were defensive standouts for Willow Glen in the win. Willow Glen came right back with a tight 4-3 win over Branham Hills to earn the place in the TOC title game. The Sox broke a 3-3 tie with a run in the sixth to pull out the close win over Branham. Martinez singled and Gingerich doubled him home with the go-ahead run that would turn out to be the game winner. Martinez tossed Willow Glen to the victory. Left fielder Danny Owens provided defensive support with a fine catch on a deep fly ball in the bottom of the sixth, and Martinez struck out the final hitter of the night to nail down the victory. The White Sox had opened up a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Basurto, Mitchell Loquaci and Gingerich each singled to spark the three-run rally in the first. Branham came back to tie it with three in the fifth, but Willow Glen managed to clinch the win with the single run in the sixth. Catcher Dillon Hansen was a defensive standout in the game for the White Sox. The win pushed the Sox in the tourney title game against Almaden. Martinez ripped a solo home run in the first inning for Willow Glen and Hillebrecht cracked a solo homer in the second, but it wasn't enough for the Sox. Scott Anderson singled to keep Willow Glen hopes alive in the sixth, but Almaden managed to retire the side to claim the win and the TOC crown. Ghani's hidden ball play at first base was the defensive gem of the night for Willow Glen. Burk Gingerich was the manager of the championship White Sox club and his coaches were Bob Ghani and Brad Russell. Team members included Basurto, Martinez, Gingerich, Hillebrecht, Ghani, Bohn, Owens, Loquaci, Hansen, Anderson and Henry Ainley, who was out of the country during the tournament. All-stars The Willow Glen major division all-star team lost two straight games at the District 12 tournament to face early elimination. Willow Glen lost to Cambrian Park in the first round, then lost to Saratoga. Burk Gingerich was the manager of the championship White Sox club. Gingerich, Ghani, Hansen and Ainley of the White Sox were members of the squad, along with David Bailey, Dallin Blank, Giancarlo Corsiglia, Alex Gebhart-Hardin, Tyler Lopez, Nicholas Maggipinto, Rush Manbert and Michael Martin. The 11-year-old all-star team from Willow Glen enjoyed some success in district play, winning one of three games. Willow Glen battled from behind in the fifth inning to defeat Lincoln Glen 3-2. Pitchers Anthony Gotelli and Kellan Barker held Lincoln to just two runs in the game. But the Willow Glen stars lost 7-2 to Almaden and 5-2 to Union to fall out of the tourney. Barker pounded two solo homers in the loss to Almaden. Barker and Gotelli were joined on the squad by Basurto and Loquaci of the White Sox, Stephen Anderson, Elliott Boesch, Dane Gurley, Chris Henderson, Matt Houlihan, David Lobato, Daniel Merriott and Phil Sacks. The Willow Glen 10-year-old all-stars lost back-to-back decisions to Cambrian Park and Union in District 12 play. Team members included Kyle Barton, D.J. Blickenstaff, Brian Gibb, Tanner Condie, Christopher Emory, Seth Hein, Patrick McMahon, Christian Moreno, Ryan Petulla, Alexander Portman, Jeffrey Stapleton, Stevie Thompson and Matt Wicker. Playing for the Willow Glen 9-year-old all-stars were Michael Barbieri, Scott Beasley, Cameron Boesch, Joey Brunello, Max Levine, Brett Linvill, Kevin Loquaci, James McAlister, Dylan Nylund, Carter Reiners, Casey Robinson, Taylor Stover and Nicholas Taxera. Members of the 8-year-old all-star team in Willow Glen included Johnathan Basurto, Bret Bigger, Scott Canha, Timothy Emory, Joseph Gigantino, Joey Gotelli, James Hatano, Will Hein, Javier Jimenez, James Johnson, Jayson Laipenieks, Joshua Rosado and James Wallace. |
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