Chris Manderson throws no-hitter, Hollister American advances
past Hollister National, 5-0
Hollister
When a pitcher is flirting with a no-hitter, no one dares to talk about it. Considered another old baseball superstition, teammates, coaches and fans stay mum during a hitless performance, otherwise they may jinx the rare feat.
That was the case Saturday, as no one spoke to Hollister American’s Chris Manderson in the District 9 Major Tournament championship at Veterans Memorial Park.
Then again, nothing had to be said anyway.
“No one really talked to me that much. I didn’t really care, though,” Manderson said. “I didn’t really care that anyone was talking to me because I was having fun.”
The hard-throwing Manderson, who stands 5-foot-11 and whose fastball topped out at 71 mph on the radar gun, didn’t allow a single hit Saturday and paced Hollister American to the D-9 title in a 5-0 victory against Hollister National in the 11- and 12-year-old division.
It was the first no-hitter of Manderson’s short career, and it came in the championship game, no less. Hollister American now advances to the Section 5 Tournament in San Jose, where they’ll open Wednesday at the Oakridge Little League, located at Anderson Elementary School on Bangor and Calpine.
When asked if he’s ever seen a no-hitter in a championship game, American manager Robert Fabing responded swiftly.
“No I haven’t, to be honest,” Fabing said. “Chris was lights out. Chris was just unbelievable.
“But he threw a fantastic game. He kept them off the bases and we were able to get enough runs to score.”
National had one base runner in the first inning when Cody Freitas has hit by a pitch in the home half. Otherwise, Manderson got National to go in order until the sixth inning when they put runners on first and second after a walk and a throwing error.
“At the end, I didn’t think I was gonna get a no-hitter because they started hitting me,” Manderson said. “But with our good defense, they didn’t allow anyone to get on and that helped me a lot.”
While American improves to 5-0 – having outscored their opponents by a 41-6 margin – National emerged from the elimination bracket after they lost their first game 9-5 to American on July 5.
National manager Todd Freitas told his team to walk off the field Saturday proud of what they accomplished throughout the week, which included winning five straight games to reach the championship round.
None were perhaps more exciting than their Friday win over Soledad in the consolation semifinals, however. In that game, National lost a 6-2 lead when Soledad plated five runs in the fifth, but Cade Vallejo came through with a two-run homer in the sixth as National stole a 7-6 victory.
“They left it all out on the field,” Freitas said. “They all chipped in and they all believed in each other. I think that’s why we had so much success.
“But you have to tip your hat to Manderson. He threw lights out. We told our kids to lay off the curve ball … But he was throwing his curve ball for a strike, which made his fastball that much harder to hit.”
American jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Josh George scored on a wild pitch and Marco Cosio ripped an RBI double that plated Robert Soto from third.
A scary moment in the second inning happened when Cody Cameron lined a ball off the throwing shoulder of National starting pitcher Tyler Fhurong. Fhurong had to leave the game after just 1 and 1/3 innings pitched, and Andrew Breen, who threw the night before against Soledad, came in to relieve the injured Fhurong.
Freitas said Fhurong was okay after the game.
“It’ll be sore tomorrow,” Freitas said. “But he’s a good kid. He was smiling after the game.”
Meanwhile, Breen pitched well in relief, and kept American off the base paths until Conner Fabing’s double in the fourth inning. Fabing later scored on a sacrifice fly from Cody Asp.
“[Breen] hit his location and was absolutely phenomenal for being on short notice,” Freitas said.
American scored two more runs in the sixth inning when George tagged a two-run single to center field that plated Fabing and Tony Diaz, and supplied American with a 5-0 lead.
Hollister American advances to the Section 5 Tournament Wednesday, where they’ll play the District 39 representative at 5:30 p.m. Win or lose, American will play Thursday and Friday as well.
“Every game is a journey. That’s Game 5 of our journey,” said Robert Fabing, adding that this was the third D-9 championship in a row for his American squad. “The dream is to continue to win and get as far as we can.”
AMER 200 102 – 5 8 1
NATL 000 000 – 0 0 1
Junior League
The District 9 champion Hollister Little League 13-14-year-old Junior All-Stars remain in contention for a Section 5 championship and a trip to the state title round after winning two of their first three games in section play.
After beating District 39 champion Gilroy 14-4 on Saturday and District 59 winner Milpitas 10-2 on Sunday, Hollister, in its inaugural season of Junior League play, lost to Almaden on Monday, 8-7. Hollister plays an elimination round game at Milmont Park in Milpitas at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, with the winner having to beat Almaden on Wednesday and Thursday to win the title.
On Saturday, Hollister got off to a quick start against Gilroy by scoring eight times in the bottom of the first inning. Hollister sent 11 batters to the plate and had five hits, including a grand slam from Ryan Jacob, to take command early.
Hollister, whose starting pitcher Tyler Pina held Gilroy scoreless through two innings, scored again in the bottom of the second when Craig Slibsager doubled, advanced to third on a balk, and scored on an error. Gilroy plated two in the top of the third to make the score 8-2, but Hollister responded in the bottom of the inning when Dylan Ito walked, stole second and third, and scored on a Lucas Haro sacrifice fly. Jacob then singled, advanced to third on two passed balls, and scored on a Michael Breen double to make the score 12-2.
After a pitching change, Gilroy scored two more runs in the top of the fourth to make it 12-4, but Hollister pitchers Slibsager and Richie Beltran shut them out in the fifth and sixth. Hollister added two more runs in the home half of the sixth to win by the 10-run mercy rule, 14-4.
On Sunday, Hollister again struck in the bottom of the first after starting pitcher Beltran worked out of a jam to hold Milpitas scoreless in the first frame. With one out, consecutive singles by Breen, Beltran, and Jacob Tonascia were followed by a two-run double by Pina and a two-run single by Haro to put Hollister up 4-0 after one inning.
Milpitas scored once in the top of the third on a passed ball, but Hollister answered in the bottom of the inning when Breen singled, went to second on an error and to third on a fly ball before scoring on another error. Beltran, who struck out seven and scattered four hits over 5 and 2/3 innings, held Milpitas scoreless in the top of the fourth.
In the home half of the inning, Ryan Jacob singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on single by Breen, who had four hits on the day. Breen then scored on a Beltran double to put Hollister up 7-1. Hollister added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth when Sean Corral reached on a fielder’s choice, Ito drew a walk, and Skyler King hit a two-run double to left. A sacrifice bunt by Brian Becerra plated Angel Pasillas, who had entered as a courtesy runner for King.
Milpitas scored its second and final run in the sixth, but Hollister reliever Niko Mendoza pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh.
Other Little League Scores
Soledad defeated Hollister American 7-4 Sunday to win the District 9 10- and 11-year-old All-Star Tournament.
In the District 9 9- and 10-year-old All-Star Tournament, Hollister National A beat Hollister American A 20-16 and will advance to the Section 5 Tournament.
Hollister National A will represent District 9 and play District 39 Wednesday at the Campbell Little League Field No. 2. First pitch is slated for 5:30 p.m.
San Benito Babe Ruth
The San Benito 15-year-old All-Stars split their pair of games at the Central California State Championships last weekend in Arroyo Grande.
After beating District 4/5 Tulare 13-0 on Saturday, San Benito, representing District 1, lost to District 2 Bullard 6-2 on Sunday.
Now in the losers bracket, San Benito played Cotton Belt Monday night, although no score was reported at press time.
The San Benito 16- through 18-year-old All-Stars are 2-0 after a pair of games last weekend in Modesto.
San Benito beat Tracy 6-2 Saturday, then defeated Dinuba 10-6 Sunday.
San Benito will now play Modesto Tuesday at Grace Davis High School in Modesto at 5 p.m. The winner will advance to the Central California State Championship game.
