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Published on 07/21/1997 All articles from this issue

Ambruso's having a winning summer

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By Andy Nystrom / Town Crier Staff Writer

Victor Ambruso was scheduled to play in tonight's Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game, but he'll instead be donning a baseball uniform and participating in an important tournament in Palo Alto.

The recent Los Altos High graduate and several other local players are members of the top-notch Palo Alto American Legion Post 375 team, which hosts this week's Area 1 tourney at Baylands Park. At press time, the club was coming off a 6-3 victory over Pioneer to raise its record to 24-7 on the season.

"I miss football so much," Ambruso said last week. "But winning this tournament is my biggest goal. The winner of this tournament usually ends up winning the state (championship)."

If Post 375 is victorious this week, its next stop will be Yountville on Aug. 2-8 for a crack at the California title.

And Ambruso is familiar with finishing at the top this summer; he played on the first-place Mountain View Senior Babe Ruth team and coached the league-champion Los Altos Pony 13-year-old squad. Post 375 also posted a first-place 6-0 league record, and earlier in the season topped the field at a South Lake Tahoe tournament.

"I finally get a taste of winning. It's been a pretty good summer," said Ambruso, referring to his marginal success at Los Altos High. "When we (Post 375) win, we win big. But the close ones are great, too."

Joining Ambruso on Post 375 are fellow Los Altos grads Casey Lopez, Ryan Geneman and Kevin Searles and senior-to-be Jamie Nolte.

Clean-up hitter Lopez leads the Eagle crew with a .485 average with 50 hits, 51 RBIs and 12 home runs. In the leadoff spot, Ambruso is hitting .474 with 41 runs scored and eight stolen bases in as many tries. Searles owns a .366 average with 37 hits and six homers, and Nolte is at .333 with two game-winning homers in the bottom of the seventh inning. And on the mound, Geneman has 16 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.40.

Ambruso attributes the team's success to coaches Gary McNamara and Tony Brewer's tough, helpful style.

"They coach us as if we're college players, preparing us for Division I or II (competition)," said Ambruso, who plans to play at either Cal-State Hayward or a local junior college next season. "We sprint on and off the field and have a good attitude."