The Hollister National 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars played in
two more games than Napa National in the NorCal Division II
Tournament last week, and it may have been the difference. After
narrowly falling to the Section 1 representative 4-3 in last
Tuesday’s semifinal round, Hollister National defeated Tri-City
12-6 in Wednesday’s elimination bracket before falling to Napa
National again, this time in the championship round by a 6-0
score.
HOLLISTER
The Hollister National 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars played in two more games than Napa National in the NorCal Division II Tournament last week, and it may have been the difference.
After narrowly falling to the Section 1 representative 4-3 in last Tuesday’s semifinal round, Hollister National defeated Tri-City 12-6 in Wednesday’s elimination bracket before falling to Napa National again, this time in the championship round by a 6-0 score.
“We couldn’t really hit,” said National manager Anthony Sotelo, whose team recorded just two hits in Thursday’s loss at Vacaville’s Centennial Park. “I think the five games versus the three games Napa played kind of took a toll on us.
“We hit, but everything we hit was hit right at them.”
Napa National advances to the Western Regional in San Bernandino as a result, where as Hollister National wraps up its three-tournament postseason with a runner-up finish in Northern California, as well as titles in both District 9 and Section 5.
“It was a great run. The kids poured their hearts out,” Sotelo said. “It was a great season for the kids.
“They tended to prove people wrong every time. Here they are, playing for the state championship.”
The odds appeared to be against the local all-stars from the start of the Division II tournament.
In its very first game, Hollister National delivered a walk-off 3-2 victory over Tri-City to open the tournament on July 24, then fell behind San Ramon in its second-round game before leapfrogging the Section 3 representative en route to a 5-2 win.
In the semifinals, Hollister National dropped its very first game to Napa National — a 4-3 loss in which Napa plated two unearned runs.
“We just made a couple of mistakes,” Sotelo said.
The loss moved the boys in blue to the elimination bracket and into a second showdown with Tri-City. But before the Rocklin-area team could avenge its early tournament loss, National knocked Tri-City’s ace from the game in the third inning, then went to work on the bullpen to the tune of 12 runs.
“We took a lot of pitches. We started getting runners on and getting (the relief pitchers) frustrated a little bit,” said Sotelo, who noted key doubles from Drew Williams, Andrew Sotelo and John Barrientos.
The second win over Tri-City — a 12-6 victory for National — set up a rematch with Napa in Thursday’s championship round. Hollister National would have needed to defeat Napa twice in order to claim the NorCal crown, but the bats fell silent in its very first game against the Section 1 rep.
Nevertheless, the lengthy postseason run surprised both coaches and players alike.
“We went there to have fun and play the game of baseball, and that’s what they did,” Sotelo said. “This was a good team.”
