Legends get 100th career win in 11-3 rout of Fontanetti’s
By Alex Simon
Most summer baseball schedules last around 40 games, so four summers are roughly the equivalent of a 162-game major league season. The Menlo Park Legends completed their 155th game Tuesday night, and they have hit a milestone: 100 wins.
“This 100th win is significant because it shows that the Menlo Park Legends have, for four years, consistently been one of the best summer collegiate programs in Northern California, and probably all of California.” Legends manager and founder David Klein said. “We really have played and beaten the best of the best that California has to offer.”
The Legends, who extended their win streak to seven games, defeated Far West League rival Fontanetti’s Athletics 11-3 behind seven solid innings from Alon Leichman and two big offensive outbursts.
Fontanetti’s got on the board in the first with a run on a fielder’s choice when, on a lazy pop fly to right field with runners on first and third and only one out, the ball dropped in front of right fielder Joe Goldenberg, yet he threw out the runner going to second for an unique 9-6 putout. Legends starter Alon Leichman did not allow another run until the seventh.
The Legends got going in the third after consecutive singles by Peter Woodall, Mike Marcoux and Tyger Pederson. With the bases loaded and one out, Pierson Jeremiah’s grounder to the left of the third baseman drew a throw home, but an error allowed two runs to cross the plate. Menlo-Atherton graduate Jeff Keller made it 3-1 with an RBI single.
Leichman, originally from Israel and currently enrolled at Cypress College, needed four pitches to get through the fourth and eight pitches in each the fifth and sixth innings.
“I was trying to throw strike one and get ahead in the count to keep the hitters off-balance,” Leichman said. “The fastball worked well for me, and the change-up had enough movement to be extremely effective.”
The Legends blew the game open with a six-run sixth. CJ Jacobe got it started with an RBI single, followed by RBI walks from Pederson and JT Greenhood. After a wild pitch scored another, Jeremiah had a two-run single to push the lead to 9-1.
Menlo Park put up two more runs in the eighth on a Greenhood double and a Jeremiah single. Jeremiah finished 3 for 5, extending his hit-streak to eight games, and had four RBI, giving him a team-leading 24.
“We have put together amazing teams with phenomenal athletes from all over the Bay Area and from across the Western United States,” Klein said. “We’ve run the Legends Baseball Camps for four years and have received nothing but rave reviews. We have made a large impact on the community through sponsoring Little League teams, giving out camp scholarships and mentoring respect and competition in these kids at camp. And we’ve given the community a team right in their backyard to come support and root for.
“To me, how successful we have been makes it all worth it, and getting here to 100 wins is extremely satisfying for me.”
The Legends travel to Laney College on Thursday to play Seals Baseball Club and return home for the weekend with four games in three days – starting Friday night at 5 p.m. at Canada College against Seals.
