Gilroy capped its first league championship season since 1991 by
having four players honored on the All-Tri-County Athletic League
first team and with Clint Wheeler being named the co-Coach of the
Year.
Gilroy – Gilroy capped its first league championship season since 1991 by having four players honored on the All-Tri-County Athletic League first team and with Clint Wheeler being named the co-Coach of the Year.
Wheeler, who guided the Mustangs to a 9-3 league record and a co-championship along with San Benito, shared the award with first-year Palma coach Mike Dixon. The Mustangs finished with the second most wins in school history.
“Any time your peers think that much of you, it says a lot,” Wheeler said. “It says a lot about the team, the other coaches and the program as whole.”
Senior shortstop Michael Stevens batted at a .426 clip during league play and drove in 13 runs in a season in which he set the single-season and career hits record for the school. He finished his final campaign with 53 hits and had 101 for his career. The old career record was 78 set by Dennis Castro (’89-’91).
“His numbers speak for themselves,” Wheeler said. “He was the obvious choice. He definitely makes my job easier.”
Stevens also had a 0.78 ERA in 18 appearances overall.
“He always came in with the game in reach and did an unbelievable job,” Wheeler said.
Junior outfielder Kevin Grove hit .444 in league and blasted seven doubles as he was named to the first team. In the Central Coast Section semifinals he helped Gilroy get back in the game when he belted a home run over the fence in left field at Municipal Stadium. He had had a slugging percentage of 700.
“He was our double duty guy, our No.2 pitcher and No. 3 batter – a big, big bat,” Wheeler said.
Senior second baseman Matt Hemeon hit .333 and batted fourth and fifth.
“He was the leader of the team both on the field and off – a great quality kid,” Wheeler said. “He was another guy who got some big hits for us this year.”
Junior ace pitcher Jacob Dexter routinely went up against the best teams in TCAL and finished with a 3-2 mark. His biggest effort came in a 5-4 victory over San Benito that propelled the Mustangs back into the title race and proved critical in helping Gilroy earn the title.
“He pitched against every tough team we had and did a fabulous job,” Wheeler said.
Receiving second team honors was sophomore catcher Lukas Fortino. Senior Tyler Osborne and sophomores Charlie Duffy and Roberto Celestino were named honorable mention. Adam Martinez and James Lafuente received the sportsmanship award.
San Benito’s Kevin Medeiros was named the league’s Most Valuable Player. He hit .533 with two homers, five doubles and 17 RBIs in 11 league games.
Salinas’ James Coon was the Most Valuable Pitcher after recording a 3-0 record with a 2.02 ERA and 41 strike outs. He also had a .350 batting average.
2007 All-Tri-County Athletic League Baseball Awards
Most Valuable Player
Kevin Medeiros (San Benito, Sr.)
.533 BA, 2 HR, 5 2B, 17 RBI
Most Valuable Pitcher
James Coon (Salinas, Sr.)
3-0, 2.02 ERA, 41 K, 13 BB
First Team
Name School Yr Pos Stats
Mike Dinner Palma Sr. DH .514 BA, 5 2B
Jaime Vega Palma So. INF .526 BA, 13 RBI
Chad Caraccioli Palma Jr. OF .432 BA
J. Morris-Divens Palma Jr. P 4-1, 2.21 ERA
Javier Gonzales Alisal Sr. P/INF .324 BA, 9 RBI
Ryan Ralston N. Salinas Sr. OF/P .439 BA, 5 2B
Michael Stevens Gilroy Sr. INF/P .426 BA, 13 RBI
Kevin Grove Gilroy Jr. OF/P .444 BA, 7 2B
Matt Hemeon Gilroy Sr. INF .333 BA
Jacob Dexter Gilroy Jr. P 3-2, 26 K
Michael Aldrete Salinas Jr. INF .316 BA, 4 HR
Jojo Hernandez Salinas Jr. INF/P .375 BA
Brian Haggett San Benito Jr. INF .419 BA, 6 2B
Justin Andrade San Benito Sr. INF .500 BA, 6 2B
Zach Canez San Benito Jr. P/INF 4-1, 1.43 ERA
Kyle Zozaya San Benito So. C .485 BA, 11 RBI
Second Team
Noble Enriquez (Palma, Sr., INF); Billy Foy (Palma, Sr., OF); Aaron Schulman (Palma, Sr., C); Chris Lauritzen (Palma, Jr., INF); Brian Reader (Palma, Sr., P/INF); Tramaine Lamb (N. Salinas, Sr., INF); Matt Paparello (N. Salinas, So., P); Francisco Alarcon (N. Salinas, Jr., C); Michael Bollin (Alvarez, Sr., INF); Matt Blackwell (Alvarez, So., C); Tony Mendoza (Alvarez, Jr., OF/P); Manuel Montanez (Alvarez, Sr., OF/P); Lukas Fortino (Gilroy, So., C); Kolton Klauer (San Benito, Sr., OF); Ronnie Fhurong (San Benito, Jr., INF); Adam Souza (Salinas, Sr., OF); Philip Incaviglia (Salinas, Sr., OF); Nick White (Salinas, Jr., C); Chris Pacheco (Salinas, Jr., INF); Gabe Arcoleo (Salinas, Sr., INF); Andrew Suarez-Lopez (Alisal, Sr., INF/P); Ismael Ramirez (Alisal, Jr., OF/P); Osvaldo Guijosa (Alisal, Sr., C).
Honorable Mention
Alisal (Milton Grant, Jr., Aaron Suarez-Lopez); Alvarez (Angel Garcia, Raul Salizar, David Valenzuela, Matt Baker, Abel Guevarra, Jose Pio); Gilroy (Tyler Osborne, Charlie Duffy, Roberto Celestino); North Salinas (Shane Cluck, Israel Gonzales, Chris Santana); Palma (Phil Speciale, Nick Huston, Jacob Ohman); Salinas (Corey Carma, Dusten Corvello, Dustin Stumpf); San Benito (Michael Garcia).
Sportsmanship Award
Alisal (Nick Magana, Milton Grant, Jr.); Alvarez (Chad Van Schuyver, Manuel Montanez); Gilroy (Adam Martinez, James Lafuente); North Salinas (Mark Martin, Wesley Martin); Palma (Jacob Jackson, Stephen Dotseth); Salinas (Ben Filice, Chris Pacheco); San Benito (Justin Andrade, Michael Garcia).
