Tyler Triano tosses 1-hitter to lead Hollister National past
Hollister American, 10-0
Hollister National starting pitcher Tyler Triano had a difficult
act to follow on Tuesday night.
Just three days prior, the 11-year-old’s teammate and fellow
starting pitcher Davonte Butler tossed a no-hitter against Salinas
Continental in the Major Division quarterfinals
— a 7-0 shutout victory that although lifted Hollister National
to the semifinal round, also prevented the team in blue from going
with its ace against in-town rival Hollister American in the
District 9 All-Star Tournament.
Tyler Triano tosses 1-hitter to lead Hollister National past Hollister American, 10-0
Hollister National starting pitcher Tyler Triano had a difficult act to follow on Tuesday night.
Just three days prior, the 11-year-old’s teammate and fellow starting pitcher Davonte Butler tossed a no-hitter against Salinas Continental in the Major Division quarterfinals — a 7-0 shutout victory that although lifted Hollister National to the semifinal round, also prevented the team in blue from going with its ace against in-town rival Hollister American in the District 9 All-Star Tournament.
Cue Triano.
“I felt like I had to close down that team,” said Triano, who has never thrown a no-hitter and never thrown even a one-hitter, until Tuesday night, that is.
The difference?
“I was just having fun,” he said.
Triano followed up Butler’s performance quite nicely Tuesday when he surrendered just one hit and allowed just two base runners in a somewhat convincing 10-0 victory over Hollister American, and did so on just 48 pitches.
The shortened game (it lasted a little more than one hour and was called in the fourth inning due to the 10-run rule) advances Hollister National to the District 9 Major Division championship next Tuesday, where it will have a full pitching staff to pick from — Triano and Butler included.
“You never know what you’re gonna get out of him,” Hollister National manager Dave Marquez said of Triano, whose four innings of work included one hit, one walk and a pair of strikeouts. “He beared down, and for an 11-year-old, he composed himself very well.
“Other than that, we told him to throw strikes and we’re gonna play defense. We have zero errors and zero runs (allowed) in four games.”
The fundamentals were part of the problem for Hollister American on Tuesday night, however, as walks and errors were compounded by timely hits, of which National had just six of but still managed to plate 10 runs.
“They’re the ones who have to execute and make the plays and hit the ball and catch the fly balls, so we just kind of followed up on the little things,” Hollister American manager Frank Soto said afterward.
“We just got after them and reminded them that they gotta want to come out here and they gotta want to win. As long as they try their best, we’re OK with that. But, obviously, when they’re making plays that should be made and they’re not making them, then that’s a little bit frustrating.”
An overthrown ball to third base preceded an offering by American starting pitcher Diego Fisher that reached the backstop, allowing National’s Ryan Quinby to score from third and supply the team with the only run it would need in the second frame.
To give Triano a more-than comfortable cushion, though, Butler found a way to put his mark on the game later in that same inning when he lifted a two-run triple to the right-center field gap, scoring both Antonio Corral and Mason Marquez from scoring position.
Butler, on a throw back to the pitcher, then swiped home to push National ahead 4-0.
“We got the four runs and I just tried to shut them down,” Triano said.
“It’s pretty high,” he added of his confidence at that point.
The four-run second inning was only the start for National, though. A six-run fourth frame soon followed, sparked by a two-run double from Mario Canela and an RBI single from Dante Tomasini. Three more runs were scored in the inning after hard-hit balls by Isaiah Bueno and Joshua Harris resulted in errors.
“They were humbled,” Soto said.
“They just gotta come out ready to play. The ball is in their court. When we went out to talk to them, we just said, ‘Hey, you guys know what to do. You’ve just got to want it more than them.’ It’s that simple.”
Triano made sure the game would result in a shortened affair. After allowing his lone hit to the second batter of the game — A.J. Borges lined a single into right field in the first inning — he retired the next nine batters in a row before issuing a base on balls to Dalton Neece in the fourth.
American pitchers Borges and Alex Soto finished the game in relief.
Hollister American won’t play again until Saturday at 1 p.m., when it will take on the winner between Gonzales and Ferrasci at Salinas American.
“We told them, backs up against the wall,” Soto said. “You gotta work for it.”
The even longer layoff for Hollister National, meanwhile, allows the defending Major Division champions to rest and set up its rotation.
“It’s very important, because we get Davonte back …” Marquez said.
National will enter the double-elimination tournament championship as the last remaining undefeated team.
“He’s our ace,” Marquez added of Butler. “We’re gonna go with him.”
