By Special to the Town Crier

The District 44 Tournament of Champions is becoming a standard part of the Los Altos Rockies’ baseball season.

The Little League Majors team this season reached the TOC for the fourth time in its seven-year history.

The Rockies were eliminated in the semifinals, falling 9-5 to the Santa Clara Yankees June 26 at Raynor Park in Sunnyvale. The game started the previous day, but was postponed midway through due to rain.

Santa Clara jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but Los Altos rallied to pull within 7-4 in the fourth. The Rockies loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, but hit into a double play to end the game.

Los Altos finished with eight hits, including two each by Jason Craine and Troy Hartter. Starting pitcher Adam Lanthier belted a home run.

The TOC began June 19 with the Rockies beating Sunnyvale Southern 7-1. In the June 23 quarterfinals, the Rockies pulled out a 3-2 win over Santa Clara Briarwood.

The Rockies qualified for the TOC by winning the Los Altos Majors championship June 10, edging the Red Sox 4-3.

This is the second year in a row the Rockies faced the Red Sox in the league final and was the closest battle between the two teams all season.

Managed by Sean Lanthier, with coaches Larry Russell and Jim Cantele, the Rockies finished with an 20-4 record.

The Rockies featured strong pitching this season, led by starters Lanthier and Hartter and relievers Scott Russell, Kurt Kazubinski and Craine.

Russell missed half the year with a broken arm but rebounded to pitch several successful innings during tournament play. The pitchers were helped by solid defense.

In tournament play, catcher Kazubinski and first baseman Craine made some spectacular defensive plays, while outfielders Joe Rigodanzo, Matt Rigodanzo and Richard McCaffrey made some nice catches.

Offensively, the Rockies were powered by Lanthier, Kazubinski and Hartter. During the season, Lanthier hit two homers, while Kazubinski belted three.