Sports Digest Sports Digest (July 09, 2004)

AAA Giants grab minor league championship

The Pleasanton National Little League AAA Giants edged out the Dublin Giants 7-6 for the Minor League TOC championship title in play held at the Dublin Sports Park on June 29, becoming the first PNLL AAA team to claim the victory in more than 10 years.

Pleasanton held a 5-0 lead by the third inning behind Nick Ruotolo's strong pitching and hits by Dave Hank, Jacob Contreras, Alex Stuber, Will Platt, Justin Hernandez and Nick Ruotolo.

Showing their grit, Dublin rallied back at the bottom of the third with powerful hitting and aggressive base running, and at the bottom of the fifth, the tough competitors grabbed a 6-5 lead.

Pleasanton powered back to gain control of the game in the next inning with hits by Hank, Contreras, Stuber and Justin Orozco.

Taking the field at the bottom of the six, the lead and the win were secured with Ruotolo's pitching, striking out three batters on 10 pitches.
Diver qualifies for championship bid

Pleasanton Divers competed June 25-27 at the Region 10 Summer Diving Championships at the MAAS Diving Center at Stanford with one diver on the team placing first in his division, qualifying him to compete at the 2004 Junior Diving West Summer Championships on July 17-18 in Brown Deer, Wisc.

Tyler Pullen, a seventh-grade Pleasanton Middle School student, took first with 149.20 points in the 11-Under category in the 3 M. He also placed second at 132.90 points in the 1 M.

In the 13-Under category, Pullen finished in seventh and eighth place in the 3 M and 1 M, respectively.

Nick Sarracco placed 11th with 298.50 points in the Boys Age 16-18 1 M event. Also competing in that event was Justin Sumner, who finished 14th with a 246.10 point score.

Rich Clemens coached the Pleasanton team.
Pinto All Stars third at sectional tournament

The Pleasanton Pinto All Star team took third place last week at the Pinto Sectional Tournament held in Tara Hills.

The team of 7- and 8-year-old players was eliminated by a Richmond club during tournament play June 30, after fighting back with three straight wins.

Tournament play for the team opened with a tight 8-6 loss to a Richmond club. The Pleasanton players rallied back, knocking off the Tara Hills No. 2 team 17-10.

Hot on that victory, Pleasanton steam rolled through the next game with a 17-13 win against its arch rival, Livermore. The win came through after the Pleasanton players rallied back from a 5-1 and a 9-3 deficit.

Pleasanton advanced to face off with Pleasanton Hill. Action was hot as Jacob Woolridge raced from second to home on C.J. Cornwell's infield hit, beating the tag with a long slide.

The team busted out with 9 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, eventually toppling Pleasanton Hill 18-17.

Clutch hitting and power pitching by Zack Lander, Nick Hermes, Max Sanderson, Troy Maxoutopoulis and Chase Torquemada put up a show.

Solid performances by Glen Leininger, Bryce Hahn, Kenny Rockwood, Cameron Creek and Zach Harrison helped key the team through its tournament bid.
Red Sox All Stars take third at Field of Dreams tourney

The Pleasanton Pony Red Sox All Star team took third place last week in the USAAA Field of Dreams 13-Under tournament in Riverside as the team faced off against Nevada and Northern and Southern California teams.

In their first game, the Red Sox leveled the Orange County Crushers 10-3. Pitchers A.J. Funk and Steven Pangelinan kept the Crushers in check, combining for nine strikeouts, while allowing only three hits.

After an early lead with Drew Helenihi's line drive, advanced by Steven Pangelinan and scored with an RBI by Garry Lenhardt, the Red Sox offense came alive with six consecutive, batting-order hits by Cody Demera, Chris Doleski, Shaun Finn, Funk, Helenihi and Pangelinan, notching up five runs on the scoreboard.

In the second tourney game, the team faced the Nevada Cougars. Pitchers Doleski, Funk and Jonathan Sa combined for 13 strikeouts.

The Red Sox offense started off with a bang as Helenihi scored on a line drive single by Pangelinan, who scored on Sa's sacrifice fly.

In the second inning, aggressive Red Sox offense play brought the score to 5-0. The Cougars battled back with two runs in the bottom of the second. But the Red Sox showed no mercy and clinched the game, shutting down the Cougars in the bottom of the sixth with an 11-5 win.

In the eliminating game, the Red Sox faced the undefeated Southern California Reds, who jumped out to an early two-run lead. Formidable Reds pitching held the Red Sox at bay with one run by Lenhardt.

The teams battled fiercely for control, keeping the score tight at 2-1 until the final inning. The Red Sox tried to rally, but the game ended 4-1 with the Reds claiming victory.

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