The third annual two-day Special Olympics East Bay Region Basketball Tournament was held in Pleasanton last weekend with 51 teams and 600 individuals from throughout the Bay Area participating.
Pleasanton was represented by the Pleasanton the Recreational Activities for Developmentally Disadvantaged (RADD) adult team, which fielded A and B teams, and the Tri-Valley Youth team, which took a silver medal playing in the 4 D/E division. The Pleasanton RADD is headed by Tom Morelli who has been volunteering with Special Olympics for the past 30 years.
Police Chief Tim Neal opened the tournament with a welcoming speech by Councilmember Matt Sullivan. Jack Nespor of the Tri-Valley Rockets was the torch runner. The tournament was hosted by the Amador Valley High School Athletic Boosters Club and held on seven courts at the school and at Pleasanton Middle School.
More than 300 volunteers, of which 200 were students from Amador, helped with the tournament, including serving lunch for 900 participating athletes.
The Amador Boosters will host the Track and Volleyball competitions on Saturday, May 6 at Amador. Contact Kent Young at zenkent@comcast.net for more information.
–Ken Mano
Lady Dons shut out Lady Dragons 2-0
After a week of rain-cancelled games, the Amador Valley Lady Dons Varsity softball team took the field against Bishop OíDowd last week and won their third game of the season with a score of 2-0.
Christina Fromson, Breanna Furphy, Alex Bright and Emily Cipolla each had singles during the game for a total of four hits. Brittany Hillman drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly scoring Audra Bloom from third base. The second run was scored in the fifth inning when both Alex Bright and Cipolla hit tough chances to the hole at short that were misplayed. Michelle Pitts and Bloom both walked forcing in the run.
During the game, left fielder Fromson made an exciting catch of a foul ball at the fence to stop the opponents in their tracks. The game ended on a double play started by right fielder Bloom who threw to first baseman Karen Cross to get the runner out at first. Cross then threw the ball to catcher Pitts who chased the runner back to third and threw to third baseman Kelly McKeehan for the last out of the game.
–Ken Mano
Golf team wins in Merced
The Amador Golf team took first place in the Joe Montano Invitational Golf Tournament at Merced G & C. C. on Monday, April 10. The team posted a 412 in wet conditions winning by 8 strokes over the nearest competitor. Kirk Laffins won the individual title with a 74, Jonny Baxter tied for second with a 78 and Mike Ortega took fifth with a solid 81. Senior Britton Russell and Freshman Ryan Snow, playing in their first varsity appearances of the spring, shot 90 and 89 respectively.
–Ken Mano
