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Published on 07/27/1998 All articles from this issue

Post 375 makes quick exit from Area 2 Tournament

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By Pete Borello / Town Crier Staff Writer

Palo Alto American Legion Post 375's season came to an abrupt end with back-to-back losses in the Area 2 Tournament last month in Union City.

Post 375 - a Joe DiMaggio League baseball team with players from St. Francis, Homestead, Gunn and Palo Alto highs - finished the year with a 23-10-2 record.

The club opened the double-elimination tournament with an 11-7 loss to Lafayette July 21. Two days later, Post 375 dropped out of the competition by falling 7-6 to Redwood City.

Post 375's downfall had little to do with hitting, as the team pounded out 26 hits over the two games. The main culprit was pitching, according to team statistician Buzz Smith. Post 375 went into the tourney without three of its eight hurlers. Two pitchers were sidelined with sore arms and the other was dropped from the team, Smith said.

And to make matters worse, standout catcher Tyler Sullivan of Gunn could not play behind the plate due to a bout with mononucleosis.

Sullivan did see action as a designated hitter and pitcher, with mixed results. He had two hits against Redwood City, but took the loss by allowing two runs in the seventh that proved to be the difference in the game.

Post 375's leading hitter that day was Paly's Aaron Saxe, who had a double, two singles and three RBI.

In the opener, Post 375 out-hit Lafayette 15-9, but struggled in the field. The team made three errors, allowed 10 walks and two home runs and hit two batters. Paly's Jerrell Taylor was the pitcher of record.

Offensively, Post 375 got three hits apiece from Matt Maguire of St. Francis and Joe Ginanni and Jordan French of Paly.

For the year, St. Francis' Grant Feichtmeir led Post 375 with a .541 batting average. Fellow Lancer Marty Naylor was the top pitcher with a 9-5 record and 0.67 ERA.