Friday Aug 1

State tourney on tap for local legion team

Burlingame came back from an ugly defeat to advance

By Julio Lara / Daily News Correspondent

The party is over for Area 2 American Legion champoin Burlingame. It's back to business for the 19-and-under baseball team.

A little more than a week ago there was no celebrating. Things were silent on the bench as San Mateo handed Burlingame a 19-0 loss in the early stages of the Area 2 tournament. Fast-forward nine days or so and Burlingame, after stringing together four "win-or-go-home" victories, is on its way to Yountville for the state tournament. Not too shabby for a program in only its second year.

Burlingame plays Fairfield at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at the California Veterans Home.

"I think that's a pretty big deal," said Matt Feldman, Burlingame shortstop. "This is only our second year and it's the second time we've been in the championship game. I think it shows that we belong in the tournament."

"It was a wake-up call," Burlingame third baseman Andrew Suvunnachuen said about that 19-0 debacle at the hand of the defending champs. "We had high expectations for the tournament and the loss was tough."

Luckily for Burlingame, the butt-whooping lit a fire under them. Now everyone is excited for the challenge that lies ahead.

"Regardless of who we play, it's just another team," said Burlingame center fielder Steve Merchant. "They're just like us. You can't be too concerned with the other teams. It's just baseball."

It's baseball at the state's highest level at Cleve Borman Field in Yountville, some 70 miles from home. The double-elimination tournament will feature three area champions from the North and three from the South.

Burlingame opens up against a team that unseated the Area 1 champ. Fairfield features Mike Torrance, who pitched for Sacramento City College last spring, going 5-2 with a 4.76 ERA. Fairfield is returning to the tournament after an eight-season hiatus.

Burlingame finds itself preparing for the tournament by scrimmaging a couple of local teams. It's a tune-up that Burlingame hopes will pay dividends.

"It's more of a relaxed feel today," Feldman said as he entered Washington Park for the first of two tune-up games. "We want to be focused for the tournament."

"We want to maintain the same level of intensity," Merchant said. "I think we've been inconsistent all year. We put it together at the (Area 2) tournament."

"The South has a lot of pretty good teams," Suvunnachuen said. "We're definitely not going for the 'two and a BBQ,' as they say. We want to play our game and not be scared. It's a new experience for us, but there is a lot of character on this team. We're not going to lay down and quit. All eyes are going to be on us. We want to show them what Burlingame is all about."

The Achilles heel for coach Eric Nuss' team has been consistency. On the mound, Burlingame isn't the same team it was to start the year. It probably isn't the same it was a week ago.

Being that this is the state tournament, the competition is fierce. Joining the party is Merced, who will try to win its third state title in four years. The Volunteers feature Brett Mooneyham, who will play for Stanford next season, and future Cal State Fullerton pitcher Dylan Floro. Mooneyham and Floro are considered the best pitchers in the tournament.

Lakewood Post 496 will make an appearance after going undefeated in the Area 4 tournament.

San Bernadino returns after going through the winners bracket last year and losing twice to Merced in the championship round.

And Covina Charter-Cove comes into the tournament at 25-0, stacked with players from the past two Southern Section Div. IV champions at the high school level.

"We had to win our tournament just like everyone else," Feldman said when asked if he thought his team was going in as an underdog.

"We know we're capable of winning," said Burlingame ace Nik Jurado. "We need to come together, do everything right, and we should come out on top."

To do well in the state tournaemnt "would be icing on the cake," Merchant said.