Alpine-Menlo 9-10 all-stars win opener Alpine-Menlo 9-10 all-stars win opener (July 09, 2003)

By Alpine-West Menlo Staff

The Alpine-West Menlo 9-10 All Stars got off to a good start in their first game by beating Redwood City National All Stars 7-5 in a come-from-behind thriller Saturday night. Strong bats and solid pitching were the winning combination for Alpine.

The first four batters for Alpine each hit singles and took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the first. Redwood then rallied and took a 5-4 lead at the end of the second inning. Redwood's lead held up until the fifth inning when Noah Sheikh blasted a home run to knot the score at 5-5.

In the top of the sixth with two outs and the bases loaded for Alpine, a pass ball by Redwood allowed Jason Cortella to score from third. The next pitch was roped into left center by Patrick McNamara and another run scored to give Alpine a 7-5 advantage.

At the plate, Cortella went 4 for 4 with one home run and scored three runs. Bryan Munks, Noah Sheikh and Patrick McNamara each went 3 for 4 during the game. Cortella, who pitched the first 2 and 1/3 innings for Alpine, struck out six Redwood batters. McNamara pitched the final 3 and 2/3 innings, holding Redwood scoreless and picking up the win.

For Alpine, Will Cabral made a great catch in right field to save a potential run and Munks made a spectacular fielding play at second base to force a lead runner out and help secure the victory.

In the 5th inning, it appeared Redwood had scored the go-ahead run on a ball hit deep to centerfield. However, an alert Dave Denier, coach of the Alpine All Stars, pointed out that Redwood had batted out of order. Upon checking the scorebook and the rules, the umpire concurred and disallowed the run.

The Alpine All Stars are coached by Dave Denier, Bryan Morton, Kurt Jorgensen and Gary Prioste. This year's Alpine-West Menlo 9-10 All Stars players are Cal Baloff, Austin Baloff, Patrick Bruni, Will Cabral, Grant Carr, Jason Cortella, Jonathan Friedman, Tucker Jorgensen, Matthew McNamara, Patrick McNamara, Brendan Morton, Brian Munks, Marcus Prioste, James Shaw and Noah Sheikh.