Jul 18, 2008

Miguel shutout gives South City title shot

Los could pitch Pony team to championship Sunday

By Scott Campbell / Bay Area News Group Correspondent

Chris Miguel hurled a four-hit shutout and A.J. Santiago blasted two home runs to lift the South San Francisco Pony baseball team within one win of the Peninsula Region 13-and-14-year-old title. South City won 8-0 over San Bruno in a Thursday evening semifinal at Belle Air to advance to Sunday's 11 a.m. title game.

Miguel sparkled on the heels of Brad Los' 17-strikeout one-hitter in South City's 9-0 opening-round win over Pacifica. Miguel, a right-hander, fanned 13 and walked two.

"In all reality, we have two aces," said South City coach Mike Ohman, whose team also beat Foster City 25-10. "Pitching's definitely our strong point."

Santiago made sure the offense didn't take a backseat, leading off the game with a home run and following with a two-run shot in his team's five-run seventh. The second baseman also singled home Tyler Rios as South City went ahead 3-0 in the fifth and finished 3-for-3 with four RBIs.

Left fielder Maurice Fuller (1-for-2) doubled and walked twice, and first baseman Greg Bildhauer went 2-for-3.

San Bruno drops into the losers-bracket final and awaits its opponent Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
With Los on the mound Sunday, Ohman is confident South City can earn the Peninsula's bid to next week's regional in Los Altos.

"He'll be going on a week's rest," Ohman said, "so he should be pretty strong."



San Bruno Colt team reaches final

In the Colt baseball playoffs at Marchbank Park in Daly City, San Bruno defeated Pacifica 8-5 in the losers-bracket final to land another shot at South San Francisco in tonight's 5:30 p.m. title game. San Bruno, which lost 15-4 to South City in the semifinals, also clinched a berth in next week's regional in San Jose.

Right-hander Danny Macedo threw six strong innings and doubled twice to spark San Bruno. Mike McWilliams had a two-run double as San Bruno scored three in the third, and Macedo doubled in a three-run fourth inning.



Alpine/West Menlo two wins from title
The Alpine/West Menlo 9-and-10-year-old Little League All-Star team is two wins away from a Section 3 championship after holding off host Tracy 3-2 on Thursday afternoon.

Justin Harmon threw three scoreless innings of relief, and Alpine/West Menlo won behind alert baserunning and solid defense.

Alpine/West Menlo plays Newark today at 2:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to Sunday's 11 a.m. title game.

Despite merely equaling Tracy's three hits, Alpine/West Menlo took a 3-0 lead in the second when Nick Oliver raced home after Jared Lucian, who drew a two-out walk, never stopped at first.

Harmon entered in the fourth with his team leading 3-2 and allowed one hit and one walk.



Hillsborough rebounds in sectional

In the 11-and-12 -ear-old tournament, Hillsborough bounced back from an opening-round loss with an 11-1, five-inning victory over Newark American in Tracy. Henry Caruso began a 4-for-4 day with a leadoff home run, one of his team's four long balls, as Hillsborough scored five in the first inning.

Hillsborough, which won Section 3 titles at the 9-and-10 and 10-and-11-year-old levels, plays Manteca today at 5:30 p.m. in the double-elimination tournament.

Right fielder Austin Marcus had a three-run home run in the first, Chris Mark and Grant Goodman added blasts of their own, and Frankie Ferrari had two hits.