Sports Briefs
Compiled by Robert Haugh & Melissa McKenzie

Westside 10-11 All Stars Win District 44 Championship. After losing their opening game on June 29, the Westside 10-11 All Stars battled through the back end of the tournament bracket to become District 44 champions, bringing Westside their first-ever District 44 10-11 title.

After three straight 13-3 wins over Moreland on July 1, Mountain View on July 6 and Los Altos on July 8, Westside blanked Cupertino American 4-0 on July 11, then bested Homestead 4-3 on July 12 to advance to the championship game. Westside defeated Campbell 6-4 on July 13 to force a single-game championship, which saw Westside defeat Campbell 2-1 on July 14 win the District 44 crown and advanced to the California Section 5 tournament, in which Westside was eliminated. Chris Brown recorded the win in the championship game on July 14. Steven Grizzle recorded two hits while Zachery Gates recorded a double. Three of Westside's first four batters singled to load the bases with one out in the opening inning. Brown drove in Nick Postag, giving Westside an early 1-0 lead. In the top of the third, Mikey Souza drew a leadoff walk, advanced on Grizzle's single and scored on a single by pinch hitter Mitchell Records to put Westside up 2-0. Campbell added a run, but Westside triumphed 2-1. In the July 13 game, Brown recorded two hits and three RBI while Gates recorded a double. Westside's offense emerged in the third when Brown hit a bases-loaded single scoring Grizzle and Postag. With two out, Gates hit a ground rule double scoring Records. The game remained 4-3 Campbell through the fifth. Gates opened the sixth with a walk. Justin Seidel then bunted and reached on an error. After a wild pitch, Westside had runners on second and third with no outs. Souza laid down a bunt allowing Gates to score, tying the game 4-4. Postag then singled, loading the bases. Polk took a four-pitch walk bringing in the tie-breaking run. A single by Brown scored Postag, giving Westside the 6-4 edge.

Westside 10-11 All Stars team: Chris Brown, Richard Gallegos, Zack Gates, Steven Grizzle, Justin Polk, Nick Postag, Mitchell Records, Eric Scharberg, Justin Siedel, Kevin Shea, Matthew Smith, Michael Souza, Dominic Torregroza.

Wilcox and Santa Clara Baseball Stars Highlight State Championship Winning 16U-18U Mountain View Babe Ruth Pirates All Stars Team. The team has advanced to Pacific Northwest Regional (encompasses California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Hawaii and Guam) championship held in Modesto where they will play Utah on July 21 at Modesto Christian high School at 8 p.m. The winner of the Pacific Northwest Region goes on to the Babe Ruth World Series in Ephrata, Washington in August. Santa Clara native Ralph Maldonado coaches the team.

Santa Clara Aquamaids Take Two Golds at U.S. Senior Open Championships. Michelle Theriault took the gold in the Solo Free routine while Theriault and Olivia Morgan claimed gold in the Duet Free routine at the U.S. Senior open championships in Honolulu, Hawaii July 11-15. Their Duet score was over four points higher than the silver medalists.

SVABL All-Star Game. The Silicon Valley Adult Baseball League A team including members of the Santa Clara Dynasty, beat the B team on Wednesday, July 13. Starting pitcher Kyle Hatzenbuhler and first baseman Trever Hatzenbuhler had RBI singles in the 6-4 win. Second baseman Jordan Fanara also had a hit in the victory. Outfielder Marc Barron came in second place in the SVABL Home Run Derby.

Dynasty Split Doubleheader Against South Bay Athletics. Starting pitcher, Kyle Hatzenbuhler, pitched nine innings, giving up 21 hits and striking out 10, while the Dynasty offense worked their magic in the 16-13 first game victory. The Dynasty were down three runs going into the ninth inning, but roared back to score six and grab the victory. Lex Robins had three RBI while Gabe Alcantar and Greg Fanara each had two. In the second game, 7-1 loss, starting pitcher Jordan Fanara went seven innings, giving up seven hits and striking out six. Lex Robins picked up the only RBI of the game for Santa Clara.

Santa Clara Red Sox to Host and Compete in Regional Tournament. The Santa Clara Red Sox Palomino team will be competing in the Regional tournament, hosted by Santa Clara Pony at Washington Park now through July 25. Tyler Davis leads the Red Sox pitching staff with 49Ks in 34-2/3 innings with a 2.42 ERA. Steven Thompson has 30Ks with a 3.50 ERA. Thompson also has 18 RBIs. Chris Gomez has compiled 16Ks in 14 innings with a 1.00 ERA. Gomez also leads the Red Sox with 28 hits, 22 RBI and two HRs. Nick Morehead leads the team in doubles with 10, while Gordon Madej leads the team with 21 runs and nine SBs.

Santa Clara Native Carlos Hernandez Records Another Win for Triple-A Sacramento Rivercats. Hernandez, a Santa Clara High graduate and former World series-winning member of Santa Clara PONY teams recorded his fifth win of the season for the Oakland A's affiliate on Monday, July 18 defeating the Salt Lake City Bees (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim affiliate). Hernandez pitched a scoreless six innings, allowing only six hits and striking out four. Hernandez (5-3) has compiled 43Ks with a 4.69 ERA. He has pitched at least five innings in all but one of his ten starts. Watch the southpaw strike out Buster Posey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaSvDpPPsA4

Santa Clara's Pony Team Opens Pony Region Tournament vs. Ceres on July 22 at 5:30 p.m. in Los Altos. Santa Clara was the runner-up in the PONY section tournament held July 9-16 in Los Gatos. Santa Clara bested Blossom Valley 8-2, Sunnyvale/Cupertino 13-2, Campbell 12-11, Los Gatos 8-0, but fell to San Jose P.A.L. 10-3 and 5-3 to come home second place.