Post 82 made big run

But here are some facts that should make all San Mateo and Peninsula fans proud:

· Of all the teams in the tournament, San Mateo was the only squad without a Division I college player on the team. Twin City of Washington, for example, had three players on its team with full rides to University of Washington. Another team had a guy going to Oklahoma State while another was headed to Washington State. A player from Oregon was going to Stanford.

· Of the eight teams in the tournament, only San Mateo and the host team Yakima were not state champions. The regional featured the state champs of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

· There were eight regionals nationwide, all with eight teams apiece. San Mateo made it to the final four of the Northwest regional, meaning, the Orioles were one of the top 32 teams in the nation. Not a bad run boys.

· As a team, through Sunday, the Orioles finished fourth in batting with a .336 team average. They were third in total hits with 46 and were first in team pitching with an earned run average of 2.87, allowing 13 runs in four games. Defensively, San Mateo was second in team fielding, committing only five errors in four games. The Orioles went errorless in their 12-0 win over Wyoming in the tournament opener.

Ryan Peterson, a 2004 Burlingame graduate, finished fifth in batting, hitting a robust .529 in four games, going 9 for 17. He was third in RBIs with nine.

I don't think there was an all tournament team picked, but if there was, organizers would be hard pressed to leave these San Mateo kids off the list:

· First baseman/pitcher Peterson: see above. Not only did he rake at the plate, he gave one of the gutsiest pitching performances of the tournament. He gave up 17 hits to Oregon, but only allowed six runs. The fact he pitched a complete game was amazing.

· Center fielder Bobby Scott: After going 2 for 4 with four RBIs in the opener against Wyoming, Scott cooled off a bit - but only at the plate. His defense in center field is what earns him a spot. Scott, arguably one of the fastest players in the tournament, chased down several fly balls that would have been extra-base hits against average center fielders. His defense kept San Mateo in every ball game. He made the defensive play of the tournament in the game against Twin City - with two outs, a ball was hit into the right-center field gap. Scott, who was shifted over to left center, sprinted across the grass and made a headlong, diving, stretched out catch to end the inning.

· Right fielder/first baseman Giorgio Lavezzo: He batted .438 for the tournament and drove in only two runs, but it seemed like he came through in the clutch whenever the Orioles needed it. He also handled a switch from right field to first base flawlessly. In fact, he made the second-best play of the tournament. He fielded a chopper at first and with the ball in his right hand, tagged the runner coming up the line with an empty glove. He spun around and as he did, he put the ball in the glove before holding it up to show the umpire, who called the runner out. Not even Giorgio's older brother Gino, a first baseman by trade, tried that one.

· Pitcher Victor Schramm: He set the tone for San Mateo early on. He started the first game against Wyoming and was dominant. He pitched seven innings, giving up just two hits while tossing a shutout. The biggest accomplishment, however, might be the fact he did not walk anyone, which he said made him the most proud.