Behind a combined no-hitter from Justin Goodwin, Hunter Haworth
and Jacob Trujillo, the local 13-year-olds easily claimed the D-1
crown with a quick and convincing 15-0 win against Lodi in the
tournament championship at Hollister’s Veterans Memorial Park on
Tuesday.
HOLLISTER
Last Thursday, the San Benito 13-year-old All-Stars moved past Lodi 16-4 in the opening round of the District 1 State Qualifier Tournament. On Tuesday, San Benito provided the finishing touches.
Behind a combined no-hitter from Justin Goodwin, Hunter Haworth and Jacob Trujillo, the local 13-year-olds easily claimed the D-1 crown with a quick and convincing 15-0 win against Lodi in the tournament championship at Hollister’s Veterans Memorial Park on Tuesday.
The game was called after the fifth inning.
San Benito will now play in the eight-team Central California State Tournament in Santa Maria on July 17, where the local 13-year-old Babe Ruth All-Stars will square off against the District 8 representative, a region located near Bakersfield.
Lodi, too, will compete in the state tournament, as the top two teams from District 1 advance to the next round.
The District 1 tournament provided little competition for San Benito, however, which won all three of its games by a 42-4 margin.
After topping Lodi 16-4 in the first round and Tracy 11-0 in the quarterfinal round, San Benito took advantage of 11 walks allowed by Lodi on Tuesday, banged out 12 hits, pocketed eight runs in the third inning and never let up en route to the double-digit victory.
“The story of the game was that we had a lot of base runners,” San Benito manager Adam Breen said. “We had a lot of walks, but we also had a lot of hits sandwiched in there, and we had a lot of opportunities.”
Similar to its previous contest in the District 1 semifinals, in which Tracy allowed 11 bases on balls, San Benito displayed sound plate awareness and only took what Lodi gave them.
In the first inning, for instance, San Benito drew four straight walks before Marcus Rueda connected on an RBI single that put the locals up 3-0.
Later, in the third inning, San Benito delivered four hits and drew five walks, three of which that came with the bases loaded.
But while the hits and walks were plentiful for the local 13-year-olds, San Benito pitchers Justin Goodwin, Hunter Haworth and Jacob Trujillo made sure that wasn’t the case for Lodi.
Goodwin first set the tone for San Benito, tossing three hitless innings, striking out three and walking two.
“Justin hadn’t throw in the tournament, and he’s our hardest thrower, for sure,” Breen said. “The lead allowed us to pull him after three innings. We wanted to use a variety of guys if we could.”
Goodwin (3IP, 3K, 2BB, 0H, 0R) left the game following the third inning and an 11-0 San Benito lead.
“At that point,” Breen added, “we wanted to get our other guys some work for the next round, just to keep them sharp.”
Enter Haworth (1IP, 1K, 1BB, 0H, 0R) and Trujillo (1IP, 1K, 0BB, 0R, 0H), each of whom pitched a scoreless, hitless inning against Lodi.
Haworth also led the team at the plate with a 3 of 4 performance, while both Tony Amaral and Rueda went 2 of 3.
San Benito now has a week layoff prior to opening the state tournament on Saturday, July 17. Their opening game is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Elks Field in Santa Maria.
District 1 State Qualifier Tournament — 14-year-olds
The San Benito Babe Ruth 14-year-old All-Stars will play in the District 1 State Qualifier Tournament championship on Wednesday night against Lodi. First pitch is 5 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park in Hollister.
District 1 State Qualifier Tournament — 15-year-olds
The San Benito Babe Ruth 15-year-old All-Stars delivered a come-from-behind victory over host Lodi on Tuesday night.
Trailing by a 10-4 margin entering the final inning, San Benito scored 12 times en route to an 18-10 win and a spot in Thursday’s District 1 championship.
The championship game is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Lodi.
