Junior League All-Stars begin practice, seek successful title
defense of District 9 championship
The same thing that could be seen as a strength for this year’s
Hollister Junior League 13/14-year-old All-Stars could also be one
of its weaknesses.
Junior League All-Stars begin practice, seek successful title defense of District 9 championship
The same thing that could be seen as a strength for this year’s Hollister Junior League 13/14-year-old All-Stars could also be one of its weaknesses.
With each of its opponents in District 9 having just one or two teams to select its all-star players from – Gonzales (2), North County (2), Continental (2), Atlantic (1), Hartnell (1) and Ferrasci (1) – Hollister is in an enviable position, able to select players from four different teams. It’s the most of any other town in the district, and Hollister’s talent as a collective unit can be partially disguised during the regular season as a result.
“We have a lot of tools to play with – lots of big hitters and lots of line-drive hitters,” said manager Todd Freitas, who last year coached the Hollister National 11/12-year-old all-stars. “We have a lot of really good baseball players.”
But having that talent spread out among four different teams during the regular season also has its obvious setbacks. Most notably, Hollister has less than two weeks to put everything together as one collective unit – one unit that can successfully defend last season’s District 9 title, which was won in Hollister’s first year of Junior League competition.
“The other teams have an advantage because they’ve been playing together all year,” said all-star returner Jacob Tonascia, 14. “We have two weeks to come together.”
Following the Junior League Giants’ first-round exit from the District 9 Tournament of Champions on Monday, the all-star team was out at San Benito High School for its first full practice on Tuesday afternoon.
“I think we’re looking good for our first practice,” Tonascia said, “smooth.”
Along with Hollister coaches Rod George and Scott Ito, SBHS varsity baseball manager Michael Luna was on hand to provide some defensive strategy for the Junior League all-stars, specifically bunt defense, first-and-third defense, relays, cutoffs and pick-off plays.
“I’ve seen most of these guys in camps, and there is some ability out there,” Luna said. “At this level, there can be a real lack of communication. I was just trying to emphasize how important communication is, especially on defense.”
The team has until June 29 to prepare, though, at which point it will open the 2009 District 9 Junior All-Star Tournament against Gonzales at Salinas’ Muni Stadium.
“We’ve got to learn to trust each other,” all-star Craig Slibsager said.
Slibsager, 14, helped lead the charge during last year’s rather improbable District 9 championship win against Hartnell, a game in which Hollister actually trailed by six runs with two outs in the seventh, only to come all the way back and triumph in nine innings, 13-11.
“We want to go farther (this year),” Slibsager said. Last year’s District 9 win, he added, was not a fluke
This year, Hollister will try to prove as much.
“We want to win this year in section,” said Dylan Ito. Hollister, District 9 title in tow, finished runner-up at the Section 5 Tournament last season, falling to Almaden 6-3 in the championship final.
But with a more balanced team this season – Hollister has six 14-year-olds and seven 13-years-olds – including six returning players, not to mention hard-throwing hurlers like Slibsager, Robert Soto and Chris Manderson, Hollister appears poised, and confident, to compete against the best District 9 has to offer.
Hartnell, like last year, could be the favorite heading in to the tournament, but defending champion Hollister may just have the experience.
“All of them know how to play baseball,” Freitas said. “All of these kids have won some sort of championship … and they know how to play into August.”
ALL-STARS
Junior League
Dylan Ito, Cody Freitas, Michael Breen, Angel Pasillas Jr., Richie Beltran, Craig Slibsager, Jacob Tonascia, Daniel Gonzales, Cody Cameron, Josh George, Jordan Lopes, Robert Soto and Christopher Manderson. Manager Todd Freitas. Coaches Rod George and Scott Ito.
Hollister American 11-12
Junior Rodriguez, Zack Moeller, Conner Starke, Tony Amaral, Justin Goodwin, Cameron Brann, Conner Fabing, Troy Ocampo, Enrique Rodriguez, Alex Garcia, Josh Tonascia and Michael Marler. Manager Robert Fabing.
Hollister National 11-12
John Batelle, Tyler Biersdorff, Andrew Breen, Brandon Granger, Hunter Haworth, Thomas Hernandez, Garret Kelly, Riley Lange, Gregory Moreno, Austin Ryder, Andrew Sotelo, Joe Telles and Jacob Trujillo. Manager Mark Haworth. Coaches Adam Breen and Mike Martinez.
Hollister American 9-10 A
Diego Fisher, Jake Ito, Tyler Grimes, AJ Borges, Alex Soto, Sam Vincencio, Dominic Johnson, Tim Manderson, Nate Fhurong, Marcos Flores, Hunter Nye, Derek Moeller and Zack Mata. Manager Frank Soto
Hollister National 9-10 A
Garrett Bourdet, Isaiah Bueno, Davonte Butler, Nicholas Christian, Antonio Corral, Nicholas Lopez, Mason Marquez, Gehrig Mendez, Ryan Quinby, Jacob Ryder, Tyler Triano, Drew Williams and Joshua Zanger. Manager Dave Marquez.
*Still to come: 11-year-old All-Stars, 9- and 10-year-old B All-Stars and 8-year-old All-Stars.
District 9 TOC
As of The Weekend Pinnacle’s press time, only Hollister National (Nationals) of the major division and Hollister National (Mets) of the minor division remained in contention at the District 9 Tournament of Champions.
The major division Nationals, having previously defeated Hartnell 11-4 and Salinas American 21-0, were scheduled to play Soledad Wednesday. A win there would advance the Nationals to the TOC championship, slated for today, Friday, at Salinas Continental at 5:30 p.m., against either Continental or Ferrasci.
The minor division Mets, meanwhile, previously downed Atlantic 10-8 and Hollister American 9-8. The team was scheduled to face King City on Thursday night, and a victory there would advance them to the TOC championship on Saturday in Gonzales at 10 a.m., against either Greenfield or Ferrasci.
