Team uses comeback to secure bid in sections; Slibsager and
Blake crush 3-run homers in 11-6 victory
Salinas – Starting strong was one thing, but finishing strong proved even more important for Hollister’s 10-11-year-old American League All-Star team. With the District 9 title on the line, Hollister American did both to secure the championship Friday.
Spurred to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning, Hollister American had to survive a spirited comeback by Salinas Continental, playing on its home diamond. Despite seeing its lead evaporate and forced to play from behind, Hollister American rallied to pocket an 11-6 win and the resulting berth in next week’s section playoffs.
“It was a great game,” said Hollister American manager Dave Slibsager of the action-packed championship contest.
After back-to-back singles by Ray Rueda and Casey Hansen in the bottom of the first, No. 3 hitter Craig Slibsager powered Hollister American to its fast start with a three-run home run.
Continental immediately battled back to score two runs in the second, but a solo home run by Richie Beltran in the third gave Hollister American a 4-2 lead.
Showing that it wouldn’t go quietly, Continental used a pair of walks and two home runs to roar back with a four-run fourth.
Even though it saw its lead go up in smoke, Hollister American showed its championship character by immediately answering. After Eddie Munoz and Zach Szyndrowsky reached base in the bottom of the fourth, Austin Blake put Hollister American in front to stay with a three-run homer of his own.
Hollister American pushed across one more in the fourth to push its lead to 8-6, and then added three more in the fifth to secure its section bid.
The team’s manager was quick to commend his players for keeping their cool after losing the lead.
“They came back,” Slibsager said. “They fought back. It builds great perseverance going into the next tournament.”
Continental, which was forced to play through the losers’ bracket after suffering an opening-round loss to Hollister American, entered the title game with significant momentum on the heels of surviving a pair of high-scoring thrillers. But Hollister American showed its earlier 5-2 win wasn’t a fluke, besting its Salinas opponent once again to wrap up a perfect 5-0 district run.
“They’re riding real high right now,” Slibsager said in the middle of his team’s post-game celebration.
Hollister American advanced to the 10-11-year-old section tournament, to be held in San Jose starting Thursday. The team opens play at Eastridge Little League field Friday at 5:30pm.
