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Published on 09/02/1996 All articles from this issue

Lentz, fellow Lancers are state DiMaggio champs

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By Andy Nystrom

Town Crier Sports Editor

Whether it was in Yountville or Prague, a group of St. Francis High guys played some serious baseball this summer.

Lancer grads John Gall, Bryan Clark and Paul Davis and current seniors James Lentz, Darin Heredia and Tim Cross all teamed up on the Menlo Park Brewers to win the Joe DiMaggio League state championship last month.

And while his team was clinching the Southern Division title prior to the finals, Lentz and fellow St. Francis seniors Vince Maschado, James Serrano and Brad Altick were touring Europe with a group of local high school players.

Lentz, 17, said the highlights of the two-week European tour included games against the Frankfurt Applers (a group of guys in their 30s) and the Dutch Junior National Team. The locals - who posted a 5-3 record - also stepped up to the plate in Munich and the Czech Republic cities of Prague and Berno.

In the 12-1 win over Frankfurt, the field featured an unusually short, 180-foot right-field fence. "If you hit one out it was an automatic double. I hit two," Lentz said.

Another oddity in Frankfurt were the Applers' inability to catch a routine infield pop fly. Lentz said the infielder had his glove turned the wrong way: "It was a little awkward looking," he said. "But they get everything done."

Ninety-five mph fastballs are also something Lentz and his buddies haven't seen in high school play, but they were bombarded with them in Amsterdam.

Facing a pitcher who had been cut from the Dutch Olympic team a day earlier, Brandon Macchi of Mitty High adjusted quickly and blasted a home run. Apparently frazzled by the dinger, the pitcher then fired his next pitch off Lentz' foot. "I thought that I had broken my ankle, I had a bruise for three days after," he said.

Lentz was back in top form with the Brewers in Yountville, going 3 for 3 with four RBIs in the team's 10-5 semifinal win over Sapunar Realty of San Francisco. In his at-bat in the top of the sixth inning, Lentz snapped a 4-4 tie with a two-run single; and tournament most valuable player Gall singled home a pair for an 8-5 lead in the seventh.

Gall came up big again in the Brewers' 21-4 thrashing of Sapunar in the title game, hitting a grand slam and driving in seven runs. Also chipping in for Menlo Park were Jess Warrington with five hits and three RBIs and Clark with two two-run doubles.

In the series, the Brewers (38-12 on the year) amassed 54 hits and batted .425. Along with Gall, fellow Lancers Lentz and Clark made the all-tourney team.

So what has Lentz - also a member of the championship St. Francis football squad - learned from his summer of running the bases of the world? "To play with a team. Before, I played for myself," he said. "It's important with a team to come together and win everything. Which is something I'll use this year with football and baseball."