Sports
Baseball
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(20-1-2) are headed for Houston, where the AABC Stan Musial World Series will be held Aug. 1115. Palo Alto is one of eight teams in the double-elimination tournament. “This is the ultimate goal,” said Bryan Beres, who had two hits and drove in two runs Saturday. “This is huge, a great achievement in my amateur career.” Beres came close to a World Series early in his career when his Sunnyvale National Little League team played in the West Regional in San Bernardino and just missed
qualifying for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Later on, he spent a year at Menlo College and then - like a lot of his teammates - moved on but continued to be involved in baseball. This year, just like his previous four years with the Oaks, began just like any other for the 26-year-old Beres. The idea was to play, stay in shape and have fun. As the season progressed, however, playing for a berth in the World Series became very real. “This is just a great opportunity,” said Beres, who drove in six runs in a 10-0 semifinal victory over the Pasadena Redbirds on Friday. Palo Alto High grad Evan Warner
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echoed that sentiment. “As far as going to the World Series, it’s something you always dream about,” Warner said. “I know coach (Espinoza) has wanted to do this for a long time. He’s done everything to take care of us.” Espinoza, like Makjavich, has kept the team going as players have come and gone. He takes care of team’s finances, often paying for things out of his own pocket. His car is always filled with baseball gear and he’s always at the park - usually Baylands Athletic Center - on Sunday for a doubleheader. It’s a labor of love, one the players appreciate and respect. “This (victory) definitely is for Steve,” Warner said. “The guys want to play hard for him.” The Oaks had to be beaten twice on Saturday to lose the opportunity to play in the World Series. It appeared Palo Alto might have to play a challenge game on Sunday after the Expos rallied from a 5-1 deficit and tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Palo Alto, as has been the case in the playoffs, refused to give in and scored five times in the top of the 11th to secure the victory. “This team has that something special,” Espinoza said, “The ‘refuse-to-lose’ mentality that I will never forget. We’ve had to play through vacations and injuries, and to be 20-1-2 at this point is incredible. We have a good mix of seasoned veterans . . . and we’ve got some youngsters who are just in college. It’s a good blend of both because the
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Let Worms Eat Your Garbage Saturday August 21 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
vets can shed some light on seasons past, experiences with tournament play. I’m sure that experience helped in the State and West Region tournaments.” Perhaps the most significant contribution of the tournament, and the season, however, comes from pitcher Matt Campbell, who attended Serra High and the College of San Mateo and spent a year interning with the Stanford Sports Media Relations Department. Campbell has been consistent all season, maintaining a perfect record and throwing a no-hitter in June. Throughout his six years on the Oaks, he’s only been tagged with three losses, two by a score of 2-1. “He’s been my ace for a long time. Matt knows how to pitch and knows how to mix his pitches to maximize his chances to get hitters out,” Espinoza says, with a laugh. “I will cry in my cereal the day he retires!” The other teams at the Western Region Tournament weren’t immune to the pitching talent of Campbell. He picked up two wins, including a shutout over Pasadena that put his team in the championship game. Oakland left nine runners on base and Palo Alto turned two double plays to get out of potentially big innings by the Expos. “When I picked up Brant Norlander and I already had Matt Campbell, I knew we had a chance,” Espinoza said. “Then I got Blake McFarland and there was a very good chance (for the World Series).”
Pitching depth proved crucial over the past two tournaments and Espinoza pretty much used everyone available. He also went to his bench while allowing everyone on his roster a chance to contribute to the team’s success. It’s something Tony Makjavich would have been very proud of. Palo Alto has a scheduled doubleheader Sunday at Baylands against league rival Fontanetti’s (11:30 a.m.), but that may be changed to a single game because the Oaks need to be in Texas on August 10. Espinoza also is allowed to add a few players from other teams and he’s looking to pick up a pitcher or two from Fontanetti’s. “I’ve had other teams with as much talent, but not as much pitching as this years’ team,” he said. “We’ll need that in Texas.” This will be the third time Espinoza has played in a World Series. He played with a Cupertino Thoroughbred team that qualified in 1978 and made it again at the semipro level a few years later with Bigs Realty out of San Rafael, after finishing his brief Major League career with the Baltimore Orioles. Now, however, Espinoza is making his coaching debut at the World Series. “It’s different,” he said, “because the others were as a player. But, it’s still thrilling nonetheless. You’re the coach, you put the team together.” A team playing for a World Series title. N – Jen Cosgriff contributed to this report.
BANK OF THE WEST
Azarenka celebrates fourth title
V
ictoria Azarenka decided a little rest and relaxation was in order, so she skipped going to San Diego for another Sony Ericsson WTA Tour this week. She certainly played a lat of tennis while competing at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford’s Taube Tennis Center. A day after her 21st birthday, Azarenka became the latest Bank of the West Classic champion. She beat Maria Sharapova, 6-4, 6-1, in Sunday’s final for her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title of the season and her fourth career title. She
earned $107,000 for her efforts. The doubles final turned into a barn burner, with Lindsay Davenport and Liezel Huber needing over two hours to beat Yung-Jan Chan and Jie Zheng, 7-5, 6-7(8), 10-8. Davenport, a former No. 1 singles player and fan favorite at Stanford, last won a doubles title at Memphis, with Lisa Raymond, in 2008. In Los Angeles, Stanford products Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won their record 62nd career doubles title on the ATP Tour on Sunday. The twins defeated American Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer. N
Cubberley Community Center, Room H-1 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
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Basics on worm composting: What is it? What are the benefits? Creating a worm habitat – assembling a worm bin (hands on) Trouble shooting the worm bin system Harvesting worm castings and learning all the ways you can use them in your garden (hands on)
Workshop is FREE. Attendees receive a Bay-Friendly Gardening Guide. To register go to: www.BayFriendlyCoalition.org
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Photo: Harper for Kids
Worm castings are an inexpensive but highly valuable organic fertilizer for your garden. This class goes step by step through the fundamentals of composting with red wiggler worms – the best digesters in nature. Workshop elements include:
The Inch & Miles Sportsmanship Tennis Festival for Kids returned for a second year at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford University on July 31. (l-r): Tim Harper, Harper for Kids co-founder; Mary Joe Fernandez, Olympic Gold Medalist; Peanut Louie Harper, Harper for Kids co-founder; Mary Carillo, former tennis pro; and Andrea Jaeger, former tennis pro.