Hollister’s 11-12-year-olds, 9-10-year-olds remain in respective
Section 5 tourneys
Milpitas
The Hollister Junior Little League 13- and 14-year-old All-Stars capped an impressive first season of play with a trip to the Section 5 championship game against Almaden on Wednesday. The locals brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Almaden induced a double play and won 6-3.
Hollister, which won the District 9 title earlier this month and previously dispatched District 39 champion Gilroy and District 59 champion Milpitas in the section tournament, reached the title game by virtue of a 2-0 shutout of District 44 champion Los Altos on Tuesday.
After a scoreless first inning in Tuesday’s semifinal, Hollister got on the board in the top of the second when Dylan Ito walked, advanced to third on singles by Lucas Haro and Angel Pasillas, and scored on a groundout by Ryan Jacob.
Hollister scored again in the fifth inning after Craig Slibsager singled, reached third on consecutive errors, and scored on a Skyler King groundout to make it 2-0.
The two runs proved to be enough as Hollister pitcher Michael Breen kept Los Altos off balance throughout the game, scattering four hits and walking none in the complete-game victory.
In Wednesday’s championship game, Almaden followed two walks with a two-run double to take the lead after two innings. After a scoreless third inning, Almaden plated one in the top of the fourth to go up 3-0, but Hollister got one back in the home half of the inning when Haro doubled and later scored when the left fielder misplayed a fly ball.
Almaden hit a three-run home run in the top of the fifth to go up 6-1, but Hollister answered again when Jacob doubled with two outs in the bottom of the inning, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Jacob Tonascia single to pull Hollister to within four.
Tonascia, in relief of starting pitcher Richie Beltran and reliever Slibsager, shut out Almaden over the final two frames.
In the bottom of the seventh, Hollister mounted a comeback when Jacob walked, Tonascia reached on an error and Slibsager hit a fielder’s choice to score Jacob and make it 6-3. Beltran was then hit by a pitch and Haro helped load the bases when the left fielder couldn’t make the play on a fly ball. With the winning run at the plate, a sharp grounder up the middle was snagged by Almaden’s shortstop, who threw on to first to complete the double play and end the game.
In other Little League news, the 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars remained perfect when they defeated District 39 14-1 on Wednesday in the Section 5 Tournament at Oakridge Little League. They played the District 59 representative on Thursday, and beat them as well, 12-0.
In the 9- and 10-year-old division, Hollister National A lost their opening game 6-4 to Scotts Valley Wednesday in the Section 5 Tournament at Campbell Little League. They rebounded Thursday night against Eastridge, though, defeating the District 59 representative 23-1.
In Babe Ruth, the 15-year-old All-Stars were eliminated from the Central California State Championships in Arroyo Grande on Tuesday, falling 2-1 to Santa Maria in the elimination bracket.
Champions of District 1, San Benito finished the state tournament 2-2, with a 13-0 win against Tulare and an 8-6 victory against Cotton Belt.
At last year’s tourney, however, it was Santa Maria that defeated San Benito twice – 7-6 and 14-13, both games ending in extra innings. On Tuesday, Santa Maria plated the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh.
“We’ve played those guys in some really good games,” manager Jerry Sepulveda said. “Unfortunately, we’ve come up short a couple times.
“That’s the way it goes. I still can’t say enough about this team. They go out and play and do their thing. They’re very professional.”
At the 16- to 18-year-old state tournament, San Benito pocketed a pair of wins against Tracy (6-2) and Dinuba (10-6) before falling to Modesto 22-6 and Tracy 11-4 in the elimination bracket.
“We gave up a few more runs than we should of in the first inning and couldn’t catch up,” manager Steve Gessell said after San Benito fell behind 6-0 to Tracy. “Tracy was a tough team, but we played a good game.”
In their first contest against Tracy, Wade Jacobson threw seven innings and kept hitters off balance to pick up the win. In their second game, though, Gessell said the team didn’t hit the ball as well.
“But I think we surprised some teams,” Gessell added. “I think we did pretty well.
“It was a good run.”
