Los Gatos Legends Win Colt World Series For Third Year in a Row!

For the third year in a row, the Los Gatos Legends are the Colt Little League World Series champions after beating the Puerto Rican team Aug. 7 in Lafayette, IN.

The West Zone Tournament definitely got the 15- and 16-year-old players ready for the World Series, said proud coach Kris Hesenflow.

"Having to go through two Southern California teams is always tough," Hesenflow said, adding that The Legends beat Sierra Madre in the West Zone Finals to advance to the World Series.

Strong hitting, pitching and defense made this team tough to beat, he explained.

"All of these guys come from great high school programs and it's a tribute to the excellent coaching they receive from their high school coaches," Hesenflow said.

The Legends did take a humbling loss to Lafayette two days after beating them 16-3. It was an eye opener for the group who up to that point had a perfect record in three years at the World Series, he said.

"We took an early lead and got sloppy. The normally stellar defense and offense kind of fell apart. Lafayette came out swinging and aggressive. 

"As the game went on momentum and the home town crowd fueled Lafayette to a convincing win. I don't think the boys have ever had to play against a crowd like they did when Lafayette was ahead."

About 2,000-plus fans got what they wanted. A Lafayette win.

"They were a very well coached and very prepared team," Hesenflow remarked.

Going into the final day, the team knew it was going to be tough to win two games in a row and Puerto Rico, the day before, had beaten Mexico and were awaiting the winner of the Lafayette game, the coach said.

Ben Hughes (Valley Christian High School) shut down a potent Lafayette offense. He had told a few of the players that if got three runs he would get them a win, the coach added.

Defensive standout was Connor Thane, a junior short stop from Saint Francis High School in Mountain View.

And in the final against Puerto Rico the bats came alive, the coach said.

"I think we knocked them on their heels a little putting multiple runs in the early earnings. Kris Bubic (Archbishop Mitty High School) was untouchable and left a very good Puerto Rican team scratching their heads," Hesenflow said.

Bubic was named top pitcher with a 2-0 record and 0 era. The offense was led by Luke Rasmussen with two homeruns (Mitty), Keenan Brigman (Valley Christian), and Lane Robinette (Homestead). Ben Hughes (Valley Christian) also had two wins.

Here are the games and the scores:

Legends 11   Bay County, Michigan 0
Legends 16   Lafayette, Indiana  3
Lafayette 10  Legends 2
Legends 3     Lafayette 1
Legends 10   Puerto Rico 0

The team's manager is Frank Payton, from Misson College and assisting Hesenflow, from Palo Alto High School, is co-coach Donnie Ecker, from Los Altos High School.

The team members are:

Luke Rasmussen (Mitty)
Tommy Hudson (Mitty)
Kris Bubic (Mitty)
Troy Burg (Bellarmine)
David Ressa (Los Gatos)
Andrew Najeeb-Brush (Wilcox)
Alex Zarate (Branham)
Andrew Theron (Leigh)
Eric Benedetti (St. Francis)
Connor Thane (St. Francis)
Lane Robinette (Homestead)
Drew Strotman (Homestead)
Bobby Wood (Homestead)
Edrick Wong (Homestead)
Mark Quinby (Valley Christian)
Keenan Brigman (Valley Christian)
Ben Hughes (Valley Christian)
Danny Erlich (Palo Alto)
Nick Oar (College Park)

Mark Quinby, Keenan Brigman, Eric Benedetti, and Lane Robinette returned from last year's squad.