Saturday Aug 2

Local briefs: Woodside's Stienstra rewrites record books

St. Francis grad sets team, league marks

FROM DAILY NEWS DISPATCHES

Woodside native Danny Stienstra concluded the regular season for his summer league team in record-breaking fashion.

Stienstra, a graduate of St. Francis High School in Mountain View, led the Bethesda (Md.) Big Train to a 29-13 record and No. 2 seed in the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League playoffs. In the process, the San Jose State first baseman broke the all-time single-season league record for batting average (.391, 20 points above the previous record) and set a club standard in hits (50 in 128 at-bats). It's the fourth year for the team and league.

Stienstra entered the final two games needing one hit to match the club record and four to match the all-time league record. He went 1-for-4 with a walk in a 7-5 home loss on Saturday before a double on Sunday made him the new Big Train hit king.

Stienstra started the league's All-Star Game at first base, going 1-for-2 as his West All-Stars posted a come-from-behind 8-5 victory. The rest of his final numbers included 28 runs, five doubles, 16 RBIs and a team-best 24 walks. He committed just three errors in 322 defensive chances for a .991 fielding percentage. The next-best batting average on the Bethesda squad was .325.


Girls softball teams roughed up in Vegas

It was not a winning trip to Las Vegas for eight local youth softball teams competing in the Western Nationals this week. Two teams each represented the Belmont Blast, Burlingame Flames, Half Moon Bay Waves and San Bruno Storm.

The 12-and-under teams won three and lost six in the championship tournament. Burlingame won twice, Belmont once. The teams went 3-5 in pool play.

The 10-and-under teams went a combined 1-8 in the championship brackets after going 0-8 in pool play. San Bruno's 8-2 win over Rohnert Park was the only victory.


Top rugby teams to compete locally

The USA Rugby National 7's Championships will be held Aug. 9-10 at Rocca Field on Treasure Island. The tournament begins with round-robin competition from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, and resumes Sunday with quarterfinals starting at 9 a.m. leading up to the final at 2:10 p.m.

Among the 16 elite squads vying for the title are three local clubs: No. 4-seeded San Francisco Golden Gate, No. 11 seed Olympic Club and No. 12 seed Mission Rugby of Santa Clara.

Admission will be $10 per day. A VIP tent with premium seating, unlimited food and beverage costs $250 per person for both days.
Contact tournament director Paul Keeler at 415-287-0335 for more info.

Kids can play tennis and learn life skills

Harper For Kids, a nonprofit organization that teaches children life skills, will sponsor a Sportsmanship Tennis Festival Aug. 9 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pacific Athletic Club in Redwood Shores. Children ages 7 to 11 are eligible.

The festival program teaches children the philosophy of the Pyramid of Success, developed by one of the most admired and respected coaches in America, former UCLA coach John Wooden.

The HFK coaching staff will teach the children interactive tennis games and drills designed for them to learn the Pyramid of Success. Each child receives a Coach Wooden Sportsmanship Pledge Card along with a copy of Wooden's related book, "Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success," to read at home with their parents to help reinforce the lessons learned at the festival.

For more info, contact HFK at 415-921-8711 or send e-mail to harperforkids@aol.com.