Skyhawks’ West hits 4 homers in laugher

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Aug. 16, 1999 | 10:19 a.m.

They may hail from the east side of town, but when the Silverado Skyhawks found themselves one win away from tonight's American Legion Baseball Western Regional championship they looked West -- to first baseman Jeremy West, that is.

And the 6-0, 185-pound senior-to-be delivered in a big way Sunday night, belting four homers and contributing 10 RBIs to propel Silverado to a stunningly easy 18-2 win over area foe Durango.

"I've never seen anything like that," Skyhawks coach Art Besser said of his cleanup hitter's performance. "I don't know what to say about it. After the fourth one, I told him to save a few for tomorrow."

West was an equal-opportunity basher, hitting each of his homers off a different Durango pitcher. He started with a first-inning shot off Blazers starter J.T. Sherman, took Brent Johnson deep in the third, hammered another off E.J. Shanks in the fifth and completed the job with a shot off Brandon Perry in the sixth.

"We obviously didn't have the formula to get him out tonight," said Durango coach Tom Appleyard, whose squad ends its season with a 66-21 record. "Big-time players step up in big-time spots, and he did that.

"He hit balls in and out, different pitches. Maybe in a different situation, we might have pitched around him, but we were already getting our butts kicked," Appleyard added.

West also used all parts of UNLV's Wilson Stadium during the onslaught, lifting two homers to left field, another to right and the final tater just left of straightaway center.

"It's called seeing the ball," West said. "I just got the count in my favor, got good pitches to hit and hit the good part of the bat. It was the best feeling I've ever had."

With the win, Silverado (53-8) moves within a victory of the Skyhawks' first berth in the American Legion World Series, which is slated to begin this Friday in Middletown, Conn.

The Skyhawks will take on Chatsworth, Calif. (39-7) tonight at 7:05 at UNLV's Wilson Stadium, with the winner moving on and the loser going home.

"Tonight was huge, but we've got to go out tomorrow and take it in stride," Besser said. "We've seen them play and we know how to play them. They're here to win it just like we are."

West's heroics, which drew a standing ovation from much of the crown -- including many Durango fans -- overshadowed a solid outing from Silverado right-hander Jason Vita (6-1).

The graduated senior limited a hot-hitting Durango lineup to six hits in a seven-inning complete game, walking three and striking out four. The win comes less than two weeks after Vita tossed a nine-inning complete game in the state championship win over Bishop Gorman.

"It's his mental attitude," Besser. "We've told him that we'll save him for that big game, and he's come through for us."

In addition to West, the Skyhawks also got strong offensive performances from leadoff hitter Vincent Valiente (4-for-5, three runs, two doubles) and Joe Carque, who came within a home run of the cycle. Tommy Rojas also joined in the hit parade with a solo homer.

"They've just been on fire, swinging it extremely well," Appleyard said. "They certainly took it to us. We had a good tournament, and now all of us are going to be rooting for them."

Chatsworth, which came within a strike of a Legion World Series berth back in 1994, reached tonight's regional final with an 8-4 win over Greeley, Colo. (65-17) in Sunday's first semifinal.