The Signal : Saturday, July 28, 2001 : Scott Galetti, Signal Staff Writer

Cowboys Ride to Title Game, 14-3

In a double-elimination tournament, the objective for the undefeated team is to close out their bracket as quickly as possible.

With eight runs in the first three innings, the Canyon baseball team not only shut the door, they slammed it on the Saugus Centurions in a 14-3 (six inning) win over the Centurions Friday afternoon at Hart High.

With the win, the Cowboys advance to the Valley Invitational Baseball League playoff championship game Sunday night against the winner of the Calabasas/Valencia game at the Hart Colt Field (7 p.m.).

Sergio Almanzar pounded out three hits (3-for-5) with a double and four runs batted in to lead the Cowboys offensive attack as they outhit the Centurions 13-7.

“Our coach always tells us to play one brand of game and that’s at the top of our game,” said Almanzar. “I guess we’re trying not to slack off before the big game.”

Ryan Pipho also had three hits (3-for-4) and an RBI.

“We came out aggressive today and hit the ball well,” Pipho said. “We played our A-Game today. We want to win this.”

Kyle Zeiler added a pair of hits (2-for-3). Josh Schreck drove in three runs while Dan Hagman and Eric Ashbrook each knocked in a run.

“We’re hot right now and hitting the ball hard,” said Canyon head coach Adam Schulhofer. “We’re not striking out and we’re making the most of everything and we’re rolling along having a good time.”

Adam Tripp finished 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI for Saugus. Matt Hughes was 1-for-3 with a home run and Matt Romero was 2-for-3.

“We just could not find a pitcher who had an arm left,” said Saugus head coach Casey Burrill. “We were playing our fourth game in a row and there weren’t a lot of arms left. It’s not an effort thing, we just had tired arms and with a hard hitting team like that, they were all ready to hit.”

On the mound, Bill Chaney worked six innings allowing three runs on seven hits, striking out two to collect the win.

“I felt I did OK today, but my defense played well for me,” Chaney said. “I was hitting my spots and keeping the ball down except for the two bombs they hit. Other than that, I did pretty good.”

Scott Wishnack suffered the loss for Saugus.

The Cowboys struck for four runs in the first inning. After two runs scored on an infield error, Hagman singled in a run to increase their lead to 3-0. A fielders choice allowed another run to score.

Canyon scored two more in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly by Ashbrook and a wild pitch by Jason Pfau which allowed Almanzar to score.

Almanzar doubled in a pair of runs in the third inning to give the Cowboys a comfortable cushion.

The Cents would not lie down though as they got on the board in the top of the fourth on a home run by Hughes to cut the lead to 8-1. Tripp’s two-run homer in the top of the fifth made it 8-3.

That would be as close as Saugus would get.

The Cowboys scored three in the bottom of the fifth on a three-run double by Schreck.

Canyon closed out the game in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI double by Pipho and a two-run single by Almanzar.

“Having a day off is important so we can get our pitching rested,” said Almanzar on not having to play today. “Everyone took it into their own hands today.”

“It’s going to be an exciting thing to play at night,” Schulhofer said. “I think we had one night game this summer. It’ll be different.”

“I think we’ve taken a major step forward towards the direction we want to go,” said Burrill on his team’s progression in the summer. “I think just the whole playoff scenario was a positive experience for us.”