April 21, 2006

Evergreen Sports

Chinese national basketball team center Xiao
Zhang visits Evergreen Valley College

Potential starting center of the Chinese national basketball team, Xiao Zhang, visited Evergreen Valley College on Monday, April 3 and gave a gym class there a thrill.

Tuan Nguyen, coach John Payne and Zhang pal around during the basketball star’s visit to Evergreen Valley College.

In a free-wheeling question and answer session, Zhang discussed his training regimen, what he liked most about the United States (our clean environment), and what it was like to grow up, in China, to be a 7-foot tall basketball star.

John Payne, PE Instructor and Athletics Director at Evergreen Valley College, invited the 7-foot, 320-pound center to talk to a fitness class at Evergreen Valley. Payne met Zhang while both were undergoing physical rehabilitation under the auspices of Fremont orthopedic surgeon Dr. Arthur J. Ting, who is also the team doctor for the San Jose Sharks and has successfully operated on Houston Rockets center Yao Ming in the past. While Zhang turned down all other interviews and public visits, his friendship with Payne brought him down to San Jose and Evergreen Valley College.

The EVC students were amazed at some of the things that Zhang told them. Zhang described his daily training regimens and drew gasps from the students when discussing his 20-kilometer runs and hour-long circuits with the medicine ball. The conversation also ranged to more personal topics - Zhang is a big fan of pizza. Zhang also discussed various aspects of growing up as a “national treasure” of China.

Everyone enjoyed themselves immensely, and the meeting concluded with a photograph and autograph session in which Zhang playfully towered over the EVC students.

EVERGREEN SPORTS SCHEDULES
March 25 to April 5

*Note: for baseball and softball, only varsity games are listed because of space constraints. All JV games are played at the opposite site of varsity at the same time, unless otherwise noted

Evergreen Valley High sports schedule
4/25 – Softball at Piedmont Hills, 3:30 p.m.*
4/25 – Badminton at Independence, 3:30 p.m.

4/26 – Baseball vs. Independence, 3:30 p.m.*
4/26 – Boys’ tennis League Team Finals, time TBA

4/27 – Track at Santa Teresa, 3:30 p.m.
4/27 – Badminton vs. Leland, 3:30 p.m.
4/27 – Softball vs. Prospect, 3:30 p.m.*
4/27 – Boys’ tennis League Team Finals, time TBA

4/28 – Baseball at Del Mar, 3:30 p.m.*
4/28 – Swimming vs. Independence, 3 p.m.
4/28 – Boys’ tennis League Team Finals, time TBA

5/1 – Baseball at Silver Creek, 3:30 p.m.*

5/2 – Badminton vs. Oak Grove, 3:30 p.m.
5/2 – Track BVAL Division Finals at Mt. Pleasant, time TBA
5/2 – Softball at Del Mar, 3:30 p.m.*

5/3 – Baseball vs. Prospect, 3:30 p.m.*
5/3 – Boys’’ tennis CCS play begins, times and game sites TBA

5/4 – Badminton at Santa Teresa, 3:30 p.m.
5/4 – Softball vs. Willow Glen, 3:30 p.m.*
5/4 – Track BVAL Division Finals at Mt. Pleasant, time TBA

5/5 – Baseball at Piedmont Hills, 3:30 p.m.*
5/5 – Swimming League Trials and Finals at Independence, time TBA

Mt. Pleasant High sports schedule
4/25 – Softball vs. Oak Grove, 3:30 p.m.*
4/25 – Badminton at Yerba Buena, 3:30 p.m.

4/26 – Golf vs. James Lick, 4 p.m.
4/26 – Boys’ tennis League Team Finals, time TBA

4/27 – Softball at Leigh, 3:30 p.m.*
4/27 – Swimming at Independence, 3 p.m.
4/27 – Boys’ tennis League Team Finals, time TBA
4/27 – Track vs. Silver Creek, 3:30 p.m.
4/27 – Badminton vs. Leigh, 3:30 p.m.

4/28 – Baseball at Independence, 3:30 p.m.*
4/28 – Boys’ tennis League Team Finals, time TBA

5/1 – Baseball vs. Del Mar, 3:30 p.m.*
5/1 – Golf League Playoffs, time and sites TBA

5/2 – Golf League Playoffs, time and sites TBA
5/2 – Softball vs. Pioneer, 3:30 p.m.*
5/2 – Track BVAL Division Finals at Mt. Pleasant, time TBA
5/2 – Badminton vs. Gunderson, 3:30 p.m.

5/3 – Baseball vs. Silver Creek, 3:30 p.m.*
5/3 – Swimming/Diving League Trials, time and site TBA
5/3 – Boys’ tennis CCS play begins, times and game sites TBA

5/4 – Girls’ swimming League Trials, time and site TBA
5/4 – Softball at Westmont, 3:30 p.m.*
5/4 – Track BVAL Division Finals at Mt. Pleasant, time TBA
5/4 – Badminton vs. Willow Glen, 3:30 p.m.

5/5 – Boys’ swimming League Trials, time and site TBA
5/5 – Baseball at Prospect, 3:30 p.m.*

Silver Creek High sports schedule
4/25 – Badminton at Andrew Hill, 3:30 p.m.

4/26 – Softball vs. Overfelt, 3:30 p.m.*
4/26 – Baseball vs. Prospect, 3:30 p.m.*
4/26 – Boys’ tennis League Team Finals, time TBA

4/27 – Track at Mt. Pleasant, 3:30 p.m.
4/27 – Swimming at Oak Grove, 3 p.m.
4/27 – Badminton vs. Santa Teresa, 3:30 p.m.
4/27 – Boys’ tennis League Team Finals, time TBA

4/28 – Baseball at Piedmont Hills, 3:30 p.m.*
4/28 – Boys’ tennis League Team Finals, time TBA
4/28 – Softball at Gunderson, 3:30 p.m.*

5/1 – Baseball vs. Evergreen, 3:30 p.m.*
5/1 – Softball at Andrew Hill, 3:30 p.m.*

5/2 – Track BVAL Division Finals at Mt. Pleasant, time TBA
5/2 – Badminton at Independence, 3:30 p.m.

5/3 – Baseball at Mt. Pleasant, 3:30 p.m.*
5/3 – Softball vs. Lincoln, 3:30 p.m.*
5/3 – Swimming/Diving League Trials, time and site TBA
5/3 – Boys’ tennis CCS play begins, times and game sites TBA

5/4 – Track BVAL Division Finals at Mt. Pleasant, time TBA
5/4 – Badminton at Piedmont Hills, 3:30 p.m.
5/4 – Girls’ swimming League Trials, time and site TBA

5/5 – Boys’ swimming League Trials, time and site TBA
5/5 – Baseball at Independence, 3:30 p.m.*
5/5 – Softball at San Jose, 3:30 p.m.*

For more information on local games, log on to the BVAL Web site at http://www.bval.org/

For more information about CCS playoff contests, go to http://www.cifccs.org

Sharks partner with Pat Tillman Foundation to sponsor
San Jose run benefiting local high school students

The San Jose Sharks have announced a partnership with the Pat Tillman Foundation to sponsor a 4.2 mile run and walk on April 30. The event is open to people of all ages, with a special 0.42 mile kid’s fun run for boys and girls 8-years-old and younger.

Tillman, a native of San Jose, attended Leland High School where he played football before attending Arizona State University. There, he played defense for three and half years, graduating with a 3.97 grade-point average and drafted by the Arizona Cardinals. He gave up his multi-million dollar contract to serve as a U.S. Army Ranger following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, joining them in July 2002. Tillman was killed in eastern Afghanistan on April 22, 2004
Tempe, Ariz. hosted the Pat Tillman inaugural run last year with a turnout of nearly 6,000 runners, raising more than $150,000. The event spreads to San Jose this year with an expected 5,000 runners coming to Leland High School for the event. The race will begin on Via Valiente in Almaden and culminate on the 42-yard line of Pat Tillman Stadium at Leland High School. All distances commemorate the number 42 – the number Tillman wore playing football through high school and college.

Registration for the even begins at 6:30 a.m. on April 30, with the 4.2 mile run/walk beginning at 8 a.m. The kids’ race will begin at 9:45 a.m. followed by an awards ceremony at 10:30 a.m., which includes refreshments and entertainment. The San Jose Sharks, as the presenting sponsor, join with the Almaden Times Weekly and other sponsors to bring this event commemorating the native hero to the Bay Area.

Public service announcements hosted by Sharks players Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Scott Parker were shown during the April 15 and April 17 Sharks games to inform fans about the event. Registration forms and Pat Tillman Foundation information will be provided in the luxury suites and at the Sharks Foundation booth. Many of the players’ spouses and girlfriends will take part in the event, both volunteering and racing.

All money raised by the event will stay in San Jose and be applied to the Pat Tillman leadership curriculum at Leland High School.

The Pat Tillman Foundation was created by Tillman’s family following his death. The foundation seeks to continue the legacy of Tillman’s passion and leadership skills by encouraging the development of young people’s drive to change themselves and the world around them.

To find out more, visit the Internet at www.patsrun.com.

These cleats are made for walking

Silver Creek softball draws 14 walks, combined
with five hits, in 12-2 rout of Gunderson

By Diego Abeloos
Editor

Patience proved to be the key to victory for the Silver Creek softball team in a lopsided 12-2 win over Gunderson on April 18.

Lorena Gamez beats the throw to the plate, earning Silver Creek one of their 12 runs in a 12-2 win over Gunderson on April 18. Photos by Jeff Frazee

The Raiders made their offense function not with their bats, pounding out only five hits, but with their feet and eyes instead, drawing 14 walks as a team in the five-inning contest, which was called early on account of the 10-run mercy rule in place by the BVAL.

“It taught them how to have patience at the plate, because they weren’t swinging,” Raiders head coach Trish Sunseri said of her team’s win. “I told them, ‘the first one (pitch) that comes over, you’ve got to hit it, because you’re probably only going to get one.’ Sometimes they didn’t even get that much.”

The win also allowed the Raiders continued to apply pressure to undefeated Lincoln, currently atop the West Valley Division with a 6-0 record. The second-place Raiders improved to 7-1 in league play with the win over the Grizzlies, as well as a robust 23-4 win the following day on the road at San Jose high Academy.

The Raiders scored early and often, with two runs in the bottom of the first, before scoring five runs in the second inning and four more in the third inning. Silver Creek added a single run in the bottom of the fourth inning as well.

After scoring twice on consecutive wild pitches from Gunderson in the first inning, the Raiders loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second to get the offense going once again. Silver Creek’s Vanessa Garcia then stepped up and laced a single to left field, scoring Bianca Finnister for a 3-0 lead.

Silver Creek pitcher Krystal Koellnberger pitched a consistent game, striking out six in three innings, helping to lead the Raiders to a 12-2 win over Gunderson on April 18.

Later in the inning, a grounder to shortstop with one out by Crystal Fernandez scored Elizabeth Castillo, which was quickly followed by Gunderson’s third run-scoring wild pitch of the game, allowing Garcia to score from third for a 5-0 lead. Pitcher Krystal Koellnberger followed soon after with a two-out run-scoring single before coming around to score two batters later on a passed ball for a 7-0 lead.

The story was much the same in the bottom of the third, as the Raiders scored their first run of the inning on a double steal with runners on the corners, scoring Lorena Gamez. That play was followed by back-to-back RBI singles from Garcia and Fernandez for a 10-0 lead. With two outs in the inning, Alex Atilano doubled to left field, scoring Fernandez.

“That team’s real down and real young,” Sunseri said of Gunderson. “It’s mostly a JV team because they had to pull them all up (to varsity). We’ve had seasons like that too, so I know what it’s like on that side.”

Meanwhile, Koellnberger, a freshman, cruised through her three innings of work, striking out six and walking two. With two more games on tap later in the spring break week – all make-up games from earlier in the season – Sunseri’s said her new challenge is how to juggle her pitching staff. Sunseri said she would likely limit Koellnberger, the staff ace, to only a handful of innings of work throughout the rest of the week, while giving some of her other pitchers, namely Andrea Clark and Gamez, some time on the mound. That was the case against Gunderson, with Clark coming into the game and pitching two innings of relief.

“She’s pitched every inning of every game, up until now,” Sunseri said of Koellnberger. “I’m just afraid that if I keep pushing her that hard, at the end of the season, she’s going to get tired. So, I’m saving her this week.”