Following his team’s comfortable 12-2 victory over San Lorenzo
Valley on Wednesday night, a win that supplied Hollister National
with the Section 5 championship and a bid to this weekend’s
Division II tournament, manager Anthony Sotelo said he was pleased
with the all-around play, and called the win a true team
effort.
HOLLISTER
Following his team’s comfortable 12-2 victory over San Lorenzo Valley on Wednesday night, a win that supplied Hollister National with the Section 5 championship and a bid to this weekend’s Division II tournament, manager Anthony Sotelo said he was pleased with the all-around play, and called the win a true team effort.
And why not?
Starting pitcher Andrew Sotelo struck out 13 over 5.2 innings pitched, Drew Williams lifted a grand slam over the left-center field wall in the sixth, and Russell Enz, who was batting ninth in the lineup, smacked a two-run homer in the fourth.
“That was huge,” the manager Sotelo said. “Some days it will be some kids and other days it’ll be other kids. What’s good about it is that it’s constant teamwork.
“It was big.”
Sotelo’s team hasn’t lost in all-star play, through both the District 9 and Section 5 tournaments. Hollister National has won all eight of its games to date, having outscored its opponents by a 79-15 margin.
National will now advance to the NorCal Division II All-Star Tournament, which will begin this weekend at Centennial Park in Vacaville.
Hollister will square off on Saturday against Section 4 representative Tri-City (Rocklin), with a first pitch slated for 3 p.m.
“We won’t stop the momentum,” said Sotelo, who is pleased with the quick turnaround. “We just keep it rolling over.”
Hollister’s fast start against San Lorenzo Valley from earlier in the tournament appeared to roll over into Wednesday night’s championship at Veterans Memorial Park in Hollister.
The two teams met up in the tournament opener on Sunday when Hollister jumped out to a 5-0 lead en route to a 9-4 victory over the District 39 representative.
On Wednesday, it was a similar story when Hollister controlled a 5-0 lead through four innings of play.
Ryan Medrano and Tyler Biersdorff each touched home plate as a result of wild pitches in the first inning, staking Hollister to an early 2-0 lead, while Biersdorff connected on an RBI single in the third that scored Sotelo to make it 3-0.
In the fourth, Enz lifted a two-run homer over the left-field wall, scoring Davonte Butler in the process.
“They had to play for the fifth straight day, so we figured they’d be tired,” Sotelo said of San Lorenzo Valley. “But we never let up. Every game is important and everyone contributed.”
Almost everyone on Hollister National did contribute in the sixth inning, when the boys in blue took a 5-0 lead and changed it to a 12-0 cushion.
With the bases loaded, Medrano’s grounder to the second baseman resulted in a fielding error, scoring John Barrientos. Later, Biersdorff drew a walk to plate Enz, while Joshua Ramos followed with an RBI single up the middle to score Sotelo.
Williams then cleared them all with one swing of the bat — a high, arching fly over the left-field wall for a grand slam.
“They’re doing a good job playing as a team,” Sotelo said.
The pitcher Andrew Sotelo, meanwhile, had all the run support he would need and enough of a cushion to work comfortably. The right-handed hurler was perfect through three innings — he gave up the first of his two hits allowed in the fourth inning — and struck out a total of 13 batters, including the side in the first, second and fourth innings.
Sotelo nearly struck out the side in the sixth as well, fanning the first two batters he faced. But the coaching staff pulled Sotelo when he reached 65 pitches, meaning he’ll have to sit for three days of rest and not four.
Sotelo could come back as early as Sunday, though.
Of course, playing on Sunday means opening the Division II tournament with a win on Saturday. The winner of the Hollister/Tri-City matchup will advance to Sunday’s quarterfinal round against Section 3 representative San Ramon, while the loser will move to Monday’s elimination bracket.
