By Special to the Town Crier

By winning a recent tournament in Reno, the San Jose Lightning travel team has claimed a berth in the 2003 USSSA Baseball World Series.

The Lightning, an under-16 squad featuring two players from St. Francis High and three from Mountain View High, went 4-0 at the Reno tournament Aug. 16-18.

Behind impressive hitting - the team posted a .540 batting average - and sterling defense, the Lightning defeated competition from California and Nevada, including the favored Fresno Trojans and the strong Nevada Spartans.

Local players contributing to the winning effort included 15-year-olds Will Evenson, Michael Miura and Kyle Morrison of Mountain View and Aaron Maxson and Tommie Bommarito of St. Francis.

The Lightning beat the Nevada Spartans 9-3 in the tourney final. The locals gave up the three runs early, then came back scoring five in the bottom of the first. The Lightning shut down bases-loaded threats in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings.