Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 16

B-2-Santa Cruz Sentinel Wednesday, July 30, 1986 I Baseball I Lombards day has finally come A listing ywtk btMball Hw nhwH ulwduKt. tnvHYlmj SmiM Crul rta ttmi and toguts: Little League SECTION I ALL-STARS In M4trt JULY It Gam 1 Walionvillt Amtrkan 10. WhI Portervilit I Gam 4 west Bakerstield S. Turlock American 4 JULY Gam Wt Portervlll- vi. Welt Bakerstield, 7 m.

JULY II Gam Watsonville American v. Winner Game 7 m. AUG. I Gam 7 If necessary, 7 m. Palomino League SECTION TOURNAMENT At Harvey West Park JULYW Game Santa Crui I.

Santa Clara I Game to Championship: San Jose PAL II. Santa Crui 1 Section champion qualifies for West Region Zone Tournament, in San Jos, starting Aug. 1. Lions hit end of line SC loses title game in Palomino tourney By JIM JOHNSON Sentinel Correspondent SANTA CRUZ The Santa Cruz Lions came to the end of their rope Tuesday night at Harvey West Park, and the San Jose PAL Yankees were in no mood to help them. Santa Cruz nipped Santa Clara, 2- 1, in the first game of the evening but simply had nothing left for the next game.

San Jose pounded Santa Cruz' fatigued crew, 11-3, to capture the Coast Section Palomino tournament championship. Santa Cruz jumped out to a quick 3- 0 advantage on several defensive miscues by San Jose. "We were really pumped for Santa Clara." said Lions' Coach Russ Mill league ball. In 17 seasons, he stole only eight bases probably by the element of surprise alone. "He never got a cheap hit in his life," laughed Orengo.

"I used to play shortstop and had to play so far back that I could barely get the ball to first base on one bounce. And I'd still get him out." Ben Pino of Santa Cruz also has fond memories of Lombardi. Pino and Lombardi grew up together in Oakland. Pino was part of a group of Lombardi's friends from Oakland who tried unsucessfully many years ago to get him into the Hall of Fame. They finally gave up because they didn't think anyone was listening.

"By golly, all of a sudden, he got it!" Pino said. "It became a reality. It's taken so many years. I'm tickled to death. I'm pleased very much so." Lombardi's silence, Pino said, might have kept him out of the Hall of Fame until now.

"He didn't create any waves," Pino said. "He just wanted to stay in the background. He was an introvert; you didn't even know he was around. "We spent a lot of time together," said Pino, who explained that Lombardi was also a handball champ of Oakland. "I'm tickled to death of the time I spent with him." Like many people who knew Lombardi, Pino can't say he's thrilled that it took so long for the recognition to come.

"He never, ever said a word about it," Pino said. "But I knew deep down that he regretted it. It's too bad they didn't do it while he was alive." Courtesy Rena Lenhardt collection Continued from Page Bl Braves in 1942. He played for the New York Giants from 1943-47. In 1948, he went back to play in Oakland to close out his playing days with the Oaks of the Pacific Coast League.

Lombardi, however, never warmed up to the spotlight, Lenhardt said. He always felt uneasy of all the adulation he received. Baseball didn't change Lombard! it was his profession, but it was a game to him, too, and he kept it in perspective. He remained humble, a family man "a good man," Lenhardt said until the end. "In Cincinnati, if the bigshots saw him on the street, they'd want to stop and talk to him," Lenhardt said.

"He'd say 'Hi' and keep right on going. But on the next block, if there were kids and they wanted to talk, he'd talk and talk and sign autographs." Joe Orengo, the Giants' speakers bureau chief, first met Lombard! in the late 1920s (when Lombard! played for the Oaks and Orengo was a clubhouse boy for the San Francisco Missions). Orengo grew to respect Lombardi as a player and as a man. Through the years, Orengo has been one of Lombardi's biggest boosters for the Hall of Fame. He still doesn't know why it took so long for Lombardi to get there.

"I can't understand it," Orengo said. "I can't understand the stupidity of the writers who vote. He was one of the greatest catchers in baseball he caught many balls bare-handed. He was also a great hitter. "I'm so happy that he finally made Finally, By The Associated Press COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.

Willie McCovey and Bobby Doerr, a couple of players who were good enough but not lucky enough to win a title, are finally going to get one: Hall of Famer. They and the late Ernie Lombardi will be the 1986 inductees in Cooperstown on Aug. 3. McCovey, like Doerr, made it to one World Series and his team lost painfully. "People ask me how I'd like to be remembered," McCovey said.

"I tell them I'd like to be remembered as the guy who hit the line drive over Bobby Richardson's head." With the Giants trailing the New York Yankees 1-0 in the seventh game'of the 1962 Series and two men Ernie Lombardi, shown above in 1948 with the Oakland Oaks of the PCL, always had time for children. it. If there is anybody who deserves being in the Hall of Fame, he does. I'm just sorry he passed away before it happened." Orengo eventually made it to the major leagues as a shortstop with er. "And the momentum peaked about the third inning of the second game.

But playing three games in 24 hours takes its toll." San Jose got on the scoreboard in the third inning with four runs to take the lead. The go-ahead run scored when Shawn Rohrwild came in on a wild pitcn. inree more runs in the fourth inning also brought Miller's exit for arguing with the umpires. The Yankees added a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to close out the scoring. Some questionable tactics led to San Jose's last nni Leading 10-3, Walter Watts stole third base and came home when 'catcher Don Keathley's throw bounced into left field.

With a grin toward the Yankee dugout, the ever-jovial Bytheal Ratliff winged a pitch plateward that had the batter ducking before the ball even left his hand. San Jose's Danny Portillo shut out Santa Cruz the rest of the way. Portillo struck out nine Lions in collecting the complete-game victory. Santa Cruz went into the tournament seeded last and finished second. "The guys should be real proud of McCovey gets on, McCovey ended the game with a line shot that has become equally famous for its speed and its astonishingly poor choice of location.

It was right at Richardson, the second baseman. The Yankees won. McCovey said he is asked about that out every day. "It makes you think how many people focus on the World Series," he said. "That's probably the only time a lot of people saw me swing." His 521 other swings produced dramatically different results: home runs that have tied McCovey with Ted Williams for ninth place on the all-time list.

Somebody must have been watching. McCovey is only the 16th man to be elected to the Hall in his first year of eligibility. Hall-led Watsonville in tournament finals GOODWYEABS II 77. aTrr I II I fLt "mTOP7Tn "TPn Pm ICr Regular Regular Colt league REGION TOURNAMENT At Washington Park, Santa Clara JULY Gam Campbell-Moreland I Sunnyvale 2 Gam It Orangevale 3. Blossom Valley I JULY 30 Gam 11 Orangevale vs.

Campbell-Moreland B. p.m. Game 12 Pinole vs. Santa Crut. 7:30 p.m.

JULY 31 Game 13 Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Gam 11,7 pm AUG. 1 Gam 14 Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13. 7 p.m.

AUG. 2 Gam IS If necessary, Winner Game 13 vs. Loser Game 14, 7 p.m. themselves," Miller said. "A lot of positive things happened in this tournament.

We have a lot of younger guys, so we should be strong next year." In the first game, the fireworks that were supposed to explode between the two teams were kept under wraps for the most part. Other than a few pitches "high and inside," none of the bad blood between the teams surfaced. Jim Koenig led Santa Cruz to the win with seven innings of two-hit pitching. Koenig had nine strikeouts against Santa Clara. "Jim was really up for them," said Santa Cruz' Miller.

"He was pitching on guts, bad back and all." Chris Biaggi scored the winning run with a picture-perfect slide on a close play at the plate. team." Center fielder Brandon Cole got the ball rolling or soaring, rather in the first inning for Watsonville American, when he boomed a barely fair, two-run homer down the left-field line for a 2-0 lead. In the third, James Gomez singled to bring up Hall, who launched a fastball out of sight, as it cleared the fence in left-center and splashed into a pond. "That was a shot," Carlos Gomez said. "That thing landed out in the boondocks." Marc Rodriques, an 11-year-old reserve player, muscled a fourth-inning solo homer, and then Hall and Phil Gomez struck with back-to-back blasts in the fifth to make it 7-1.

Phil Gomez' bases-clearing double against the fence in the sixth gave Watsonville its final margin. "Phil did a magnificent job on the mound," Manager Gomez said. "He struck out the side in the first and got 1-2-3 innings in the fourth, fifth and sixth. His control was real good the whole time. "All the guys are working together, telling each other about the other team's pitcher when they come back into the dugout things like that.

We've got beautiful chemistry on this team. I think the odds are way up there (of Watsonville taking the tournament championship.) "The kids are on their own now," Gomez said. "They're confident and relaxed this time. They settled down after that Turlock game (Monday) now they're back to normal." "I think I'm swinging the bat extremely well now," said Canseco, who hasn't hit a homer since the All Star break. "I'm not worried about the lack of power, I'm Just trying to make hard contact, and make sure the hits I do get count, especially when it's getting late in the game and there's two outs." The A's took a 1-0 lead on Dave Kingman's RBI double in the second inning, while the Angels tied it in the third on Gary Pettis' RBI single.

Dick Schofield led off the Angels fifth with his eighth homer of the year to give California a 2-1 lead, but the A's sent nine men to the plate against five Angels pitchers in the seventh. Tony Phillips tied the game with RBI ground out, while Carney Lansford drove In an insurance run with a bases-loaded walk. the St. Louis Cardinals, playing against Lombardi in 1939 and 1940. He recalls Lombardi having no foot speed in fact, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Lombardi might have been the slowest man to ever play major- Thirty-one years ago, the New York Giants showed an enthusiastic young McCovey what they said would be his future home.

"I had signed at 17 and they brought me to New York to see the Polo Grounds and they told me, "This is the place you'll be I saw that 257 feet down the line and liked it right away," McCovey recalled. He never played there. The 20-year-old rookie made his debut for the San Francisco Giants in 1959. "I was called up from Phoenix in July," he said. "The excitement, the packing, I never slept that night." He arrived too late for batting practice, and manager Bill Rigney asked him how he was.

McCovey said fine. "He said, 'Okay, you're in there hitting third and you know whose White Letter It la "tica With aM lira Performance PI5 70H13 70FU3 PI95 P205 1 4 TOP 14 70H14 70R15 70H16 60R13 60R14 60R14 I 70 60 I 72 05 72 70 79 SO 14 90 87 15 I 89 65 92 SO 95 45 71 75 I 92 50 8 94 55 98 90 S102 10 8109 25 60R1f P2bb 60R1S PiT5 60R1S DO YOURSELF A FAVOR, GOTO GOODYEAR ten IIU mm 1 a title spot that is. Number 24 is batting second today. Do Batting in Willie Mays' position, McCovey had two singles and two triples off Robin Roberts. "It's almost impossible to top that first day," McCovey said.

"It was all downhill from there." Doerr played all 1,852 games of his 14-year career at second base for Boston. Six of those years the Red Sox finished second, three times they finished third. Only once did Doerr play in a World Series. Despite missing one game and part of another with migraine headaches, he batted .409 with a home run and a double in the 1946 Series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

At Prices Tiempo Radial The Original All Season Radial (it'll law P' With aw P1 80R 13 noma P1HS BOR13 hrIM P195 R14 $32 95 46J5 (48 40 SSO 45 $54 90 $69 75 160 75 $63 85 $65 90 $70 05 7Ht? 7501 lf 7 GOOD REASONS TO SHOP WITH US Customer Satisfaction Convenient Locations Tire-buymg Assistance Full Tire Selection Service For Your Car Or Liqht Truck Serving Goodyear National Accounts Quick Credit flll Ik 1 in Vector Radial hazards Long term mileage capability Complete range ot sizes tor U.S. cars and imports Unique crisscross tread produces superior traction Double steel belts help pro tect against bruises and road OFFER ENDS AUG 9 MADERA Two home runs and three would-be base stealers thrown out. Can a Little League catcher be expected to do any more in one game? For 12-year-old Danny Hall, Watsonville American's 5-foot-10-inch sensation behind the plate, it was just another evening on the diamond. Hall and his teammates continued to roll through the Section 5 Little League Tournament, slaughtering West Porterville, 10-1. Phil Gomez would qualify as another hero, as he struck out 13 and drove in three runs.

"Some reporter was talking on the phone, and he was telling somebody that Watsonville American is definitely going to Vallejo," said Manager Carlos Gomez, speaking of the next divisional tourney on the road to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn. "That kind of gives you a boost." Vallejo may be within reach, if Watsonville wins Thursday's championship game against the winner of tonight's 7 p.m. West Porterville-West Bakersfield matchup. 'Gomez' squad, whose biggest problem Tuesday was the battle against the swarming San Joaquin Valley mosquitos, has its manager tickled about recent wins, but it has also adopted a new ritual after scoring each run that has touched a weak spot in Gomez' heart. used to give high-fives," Gomez said, "but lately they kind of hold your hand and squeeze after they slap it.

That's a real nice feeling it tells me the team is really a I .1 SALE PRICE KTJK5 FREE CliA P20575R14 90 35 $271.05 Jgf P19575R15 91 45 S274 35 JV" P20575R15 93 85 $281.55 P21575R15 98 15 $294.45 f-Y P22575R15 $102 40 $307.20 P23575R15 $106 75 $320.25 P15580R13 67 10 5201.30 P16580R13 71 50 $214.50 P17580R13 73 65 $220 95 P18580R13 75 05 $225.15 P17575R14 $'75 40 $226.20 P18575R14 8145 S244.35 P19575R14 85 30 $255.90 No trade needed Offer fends Aug 9 Save On Tires For Pickups, Vans RVs! I I'EF 4t4 G7B 16TT $56 00 H78 IS TT 859 00 T6 15TT $63 00 750 -16 TT 863 00 87V 16 5 Tl 5 $69 00 960-IB STL 175 00 tHil' Tracker LT ES-14TT Black wall Load flange No trade needed Endt Auo BMWMJrril Sal Power Streak II Value Priced Bias Ply G-Metric Radial For Small Cars And Imports tvtrjaav la Prtca Stewart gets a break as A's rally for to win lira aiaeivan pIlt- With old IftSSHI $32 95 1 fiSSM 1 3 $37 65 16SSH13 $40 95 1 7SSM13 $43 25 Ifi-iSR '4 $47 65 IfcSSRIS $4765 1 Tb OSR 13 $44 35 1H5 $48 75 IBS 70HR14 $49 85 WithaM A8 13 Ii'8 13 C8 14 D78 14 I 70 14 7a 14 GB 14 M'B 14 E78 15 76 IS Ci7B M78 16 76 $32 $33 $35 $38 $37 $40 $43 $46 $39 $41 $44 $47 $49 00 40 75 95 80 IS 70 $5 35 75 90 25 60 Just Say Charge It! PRICES. LIMITED WARRANTIES AND CREDIT TERMS SHOWN AVAILABLE ONLY AT GOODYEAR AUTO SERVICE CENTERS SEE ANY OF THE BELOW LISTED INDEPENDENT DEALERS FOR THEIR COMPETITIVE PRICES WARRANTIES AND CREDIT TERMS. Continued from Page Bl ly had our chances, but we just quite didn't pull it off. It was a good game of baseball." Chadwick, pitching for the first time in eight days after being recalled from the Angels' Edmonton farm club, was happy to last as long at he did. think I pitched well enough to win," said Chadwick.

"I could be here for one more game. I could be here for ten more. You never know." Jose Canseco's RBI single drove in (he go-ahead run for the A's in the seventh for his major-league leading 82nd RBI. Relievers Dave Von Ohlen and Jay Howell pitched the final two innings, with Howell earning his sixth save of the year and first since May 20 when he went on the disabled list. You may use the Silver Card" (rom Citibank or any of these other ways to buy: MasterCard Visa MAIN CHfCN out ol row MMMwaiMu cRefc.

MMrrng Mum OWretry tM aoVvrtiMd CAPITOLA BILL DEANE, INC. 3800 CAPITOLA RD. (ACROSS FROM SEARS) 47631 OO SCOTTS VALLEY GOODYEAR TIRE CENTER OWNED 1 OPERATED SCOTTS VIllAGf TIM. INC. 231 MT.

HIRMON RD. (next to burger king) 438-3226.