Los Altos gains respect Los Altos gains respect (April 29, 2005)

Young Eagles team scrambles to stay in tough division

By Scott Campbell

After serving as the De Anza Division's doormat for the first half of the season, Los Altos is turning heads with its sharp improvement in baseball. The Eagles pushed visiting Milpitas to the limit in a seesaw battle, but fell just short, losing 5-4 on Apr. 22.

Los Altos (2-15, 2-10 division) faced a steep learning curve as it force-fed five sophomores into the starting lineup, resulting in 13 consecutive defeats to open the year. But after defeating Milpitas (9-10, 4-7 division) a week earlier for their first victory and then challenging league powerhouse Los Gatos before succumbing in a narrow loss, the Eagles are suddenly brimming with confidence.

"Before, they'd get in the games and freeze up a little bit and not execute," said Los Altos coach Sandy Wihtol of his players. "As I was expecting, you get into the second half of the season and the team starts to execute a little bit more, not get all panicky out there during these ballgames."

The Eagles' attention to fundamentals paid immediate dividends in the first inning as they thwarted the Trojans' scoring opportunity and then converted one of their own.

With one out, Milpitas leadoff hitter Tommy Cardiel attempted to score on a deep flyball by Chris Gapuz, but was gunned down at the plate on a strong throw by Los Altos rightfielder Isaac Wilhelm.

Leadoff hitter Kyle Tachibana immediately got the Eagles offense going by singling to right and promptly stealing second. The shortstop took advantage of two wild pitches by Milpitas pitcher Joe Gardner to score, giving Los Altos a 1-0 lead.

"I think that it's really important to get ahead early, for your team and for yourself," said Tachibana, who finished 2-4 with a pair of stolen bases.

The early lead didn't even last for one batter as Trojans cleanup hitter Michael Dejesus led off the second inning with a deep home run to left.

Eagles pitcher Troy Haury then walked Joseph Lagman and, after getting Brian Creech to ground out, surrendered a two-run blast to Eric Ames that cleared the high left field fence.

After Haury walked the first two Trojans in the fourth and then allowed an RBI single to David Engledinger that pushed the score to 4-1, Tachibana relieved him and prevented any further damage.

During its second time through the batting order, Los Altos strung together some hits to kick its offense into gear. Third baseman Douglas Gale singled to right to begin the bottom of the fourth and catcher Kellen McColl followed with a single to left.

Then Gardner, who allowed eight hits while striking out six and walking none in six-plus innings, made his one mistake of the afternoon. Eagles first baseman Adam Wilson clobbered Gardner's second pitch over the left field fence, a three-run home run that tied the game at 4-4.

"I was just trying to drive one to the outfield to get one run home, but it went over the fence ... got all three," said Wilson. "Big momentum switch."

After setting down the side in order in the fifth and retiring the first five Trojans he faced, Tachibana stood in stark contrast to Haury, who walked seven batters in his three innings.

But despite throwing four sterling innings, Tachibana's one hiccup also proved costly. The sophomore's first pitch of the sixth hit Lagman. After Creech advanced pinch runner Michael Raquedan to second with a sacrifice bunt, Ames drove in the decisive run with a single to right.

"I tried to start [Lagman] off with the curve because I started most guys off with the fastball," said Tachibana, the hard-luck loser who recorded five strikeouts while allowing only Ames' hit. "I ended up hitting him and it came back to hurt me."

Los Altos had one last chance when second baseman Kyle Kaszubinski led off the bottom of the seventh with a double that rolled to the leftfield fence, chasing Gardner out of the game.

Facing Milpitas reliever Scott Chew, Eagles leftfielder Michael Peterson attempted to bunt pinch runner Peter Moore over to third base, but the Trojans pounced on the ball and threw out Moore.

With its best chance to tie the game denied, Los Altos would have to settle for making Milpitas pull out all the stops to avoid suffering another defeat to the resurgent Eagles.

"We knew it was going to be a great ballgame," said Trojans co-coach Chuy Zamudio. "I think [the Eagles] are getting hot right now. They're going to surprise some teams."

Los Altos did just that, defeating defending league-champion Wilcox 12-11 in 10 innings on Apr. 25. With three hits each, McColl and Tachibana led the Eagles over the second-place Chargers.

The long losing streak firmly in the rearview mirror, Los Altos is now focused on climbing out of the De Anza Division's cellar to avoid dropping down to the El Camino Division next season. With six games to play, the Eagles have climbed within one win of sixth-place Mountain View.

"We're trying to do whatever we can to stay in the upper division and be ready for next year," said Wihtol.

Los Altos visits Los Gatos on Apr. 29.
E-mail Scott Campbell at sports@mv-voice.com

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