The Hollister Headhunters 9U baseball team goes 4-0; Silicon
Valley Mustangs earn 10-1 win in championship game; and Hollister
Havoc 14U softball team goes 5-0 and earns second straight
tournament win
SUNNYVALE
Despite having just a handful of practices under its belt, the Hollister Headhunters 9-and-under baseball team went 4-0 at the Ultimate Memorial Baseball Tournament last weekend in Sunnyvale, outscoring its opponents by a wide 47-7 margin.
It was the team’s very first tournament of the early season, and manager David Marquez said they practiced just four times prior to its four-team Memorial Day round robin at the Twin Creeks Sports Complex.
“They probably played two levels above where I thought they’d be right now,” Marquez said.
Anchored by Isaiah Bueno (11 of 12) and Jake Ito (10 of 12) at the plate, Hollister opened the round robin tourney with an easy 14-0 victory over the Los Altos Hurricanes last Saturday.
“It was an adjustment for all the kids,” said Marquez, noting the difference in play at the travel ball level. “But they adjusted pretty quick.”
Coming off its two-touchdown victory over Los Altos, Hollister then battled Livermore American in the final game on Saturday. Although Livermore provided more of a punch than its previous opponent, the Headhunters still rolled to a 7-3 win, then upended Livermore again with a 9-2 victory to open up play on Sunday.
Rounding out the tournament later on Sunday, Hollister defeated Los Altos for a second time, 17-2.
Bueno and Ito weren’t the only two to help Hollister to a 4-0 record, however. Marco Gaitan (8 of 12), Ryan Jameson (2 of 8), Garrett Bourdet (3 of 8), Mason Marquez (7 of 12), Marcus Kelly (2 of 6), Ryan Quinby (7 of 8), Nick Christian (6 of 11), Tyler Triano (6 of 12) and Marshall Silva (3 of 7) all had multiple hits in the four-game tournament.
Hollister (4-0) will now play at the Triple Crown tournament in Manteca on Aug. 15 and 16.
Silicon Valley Mustangs take 13U tourney at Twin Creeks
The Silicon Valley Mustangs 13-and-under baseball team won the Ultimate Baseball Tournament in Sunnyvale last weekend at the Twin Creeks Sports Complex.
The team defeated the Kado Hurricanes by a score of 10-1 in the championship game and the entire team played strong throughout the weekend.
Over the course of the three-day tournament, the Mustangs outscored its opponents by a 52-16 margin. With an overall record of 22-5, the team is continuing a successful season as this is their second tournament win this spring.
Players on the Mustangs include Chris Manderson, Kai Paresa, Dalton Craig, Brendan Holler, Kyle Quadros, Kevin Willard, Ryan Fredricks, Marcus Medina, Taylor Turnipseed, Ronnie Reed, Justin Salgado and Brian Ransom. Silicon Valley is managed by Steve Ransom and coached by Billy Holler, Dan Craig and Mike Paresa.
Havoc cruise to second straight tournament title at USSSA regionals
The Hollister Havoc 14-and-under softball team went 5-0 at its latest tournament, including three one-run victories, and were crowned champions for the second time in as many weeks at the USSSA Regional Battle last weekend.
On Saturday the girls took care of business with a 5-4 victory over the Gilroy Chaos and a 10-0 victory over the Milpitas Renegades, supplying the Havoc with the top seed in its pool and a long break in between its next game – an 8 p.m. start against the Renegades. But the wait had little to no affect on Hollister, which delivered a lopsided 14-2 victory against Milpitas.
“Winning all of our Saturday games was really important in this three-day format” Havoc manager Nick Daleo said. “It kept us out of the loser’s bracket and gave us the chance to play in the semifinal game on Sunday.”
Hollister opened play on Sunday against the Manteca She-Devils.
“We knew this team could hit the ball and would take advantage of any miscues we had on defense,” Daleo said.
In the end, good defense and timely hitting yielded a very close 5-4 Havoc victory, which advanced Hollister to the championship game.
The Havoc scored five runs in the first inning behind big hits from Becky Hval, Alicia Frost and Mia Vodanovich. And with five runs to work with, Brittany Sparrer and Cassy Torrez teamed up to pitch and catch a great game, respectively. Sparrer kept the hitters guessing with good movement on her pitches and Torrez threw out the first of two runners she caught sleeping at first base.
Defensively, Morgan Daleo, Madison Kennedy and Carly Snook came up with big plays that thwarted scoring opportunities for the She-Devils.
“I love a player that’s willing to get dirty for her team and defensively we came up big today,” Daleo said.
Fighting its way through the loser’s bracket to face the Havoc in the championship final was the Gilroy Chaos, though.
The Havoc plated Morgan Daleo in the first inning on back-to-back singles from Kim Sparrer and Mia Vodanovich who went 3-for-3 and 2-for-3, respectively, in the championship game.
That one-run lead held up for five innings with another great outing from pitcher Brittany Sparrer and catcher Cassy Torrez. But Hollister received more run support in the fifth when it batted through the entire lineup with run-scoring hits coming from Becky Hval and Gabriela Medina.
With the Havoc up 4-0, Gilroy scored three runs in the sixth but couldn’t get the tying run across the plate, as the Havoc won the game 4-3 and for the second week in a row and celebrated as tournament champions.
