Laid-back atmosphere in summer ball helps high school athletes
tune skills without pressure
Hollister – A game beginning with the centerfield gate wide open? A late-arriving umpire running onto the field mid-batter in the second inning? Joe Andrade without his camera?
Things were a bit different out at the San Benito varsity diamond Thursday, but it was still baseball. Summer-league baseball, to be specific.
‘What inning are we in?’ asked one umpire midway through the game. ‘Is this a league that plays seven (innings) or nine?’
Yes, the atmosphere was loose, but business was still at hand. The local nine – moonlighting as the Hollister Dirtbags – were hosting Morgan Hill’s 15- and 16-year old All Stars in the exhibition season finale. And when it comes to baseball in Hollister, you know there’s one constant. Let’s call it the continuing education of the players.
Finish the hitter now, Bryan. C’mon. Let’s go. Finish the hitter.
Refreshingly, there it was. The chirping from the home dugout. With player development the most significant goal for this team made up of returning varsity members and aspiring ‘Baler baseball players, head coach Michael Luna was, as usual, teaching non-stop.
Something flat. Something down. Let’s go. Stay balanced right here.
And Luna had an eager audience, a group of players ranging from 14-17 years old, unified by the common goal of improving their game.
“I’m picking up a lot of knowledge,” said infielder Tim Christenson, an incoming San Benito freshman. “I’ll be a step ahead. And I’ll know what Coach wants.”
“Any ball is a chance to show Coach what you’ve got, but a little more in the summer league,” added outfielder Greg Huth, a player on the cusp of making varsity next season.
Asked what his goals for summer play were, Huth said, “Get known. Show (Luna) what I can do. … Learn his program a little better, too. The tricks, the fundamentals, the way he plays the game.”
Against this opponent, the champion of Morgan Hill’s Pony baseball Colt Division, the Dirtbags needed to be on their game. Quickly finding itself in a 3-0 hole after a walk-marred second inning, Hollister went through its batting order the first time with hardly a whimper.
Extend the at-bat. Let’s go.
But the Dirtbags finally got their bats on track in the fourth to claw back in what turned out to be a see-saw battle to the end. After Wade Jacobson drew a lead-off walk and Justin Andrade was hit by a pitch, outfielder Kevin Medeiros smoked a three-run home run that sailed over the 350-foot sign, and the now-closed gate, in center field. One batter later, senior-to-be Kevin Gonzales doubled him in to push Hollister in front, 4-3.
Work harder out there on the bases. C’mon.
Morgan Hill, a collection of players from Live Oak, Sobrato, Gilroy and Valley Christian High Schools that was undefeated in its league, battled back with one run in the fifth and then scored two more in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead.
You have to make him swing the bat right here.
A two-run double by Medeiros, who finished 2-for-3 with five RBIs, knotted the game again in the bottom of the sixth and then an errant pickoff throw allowed him to score, too.
Arm fake, Justin. Arm fake.
Though Morgan Hill evened the score at 7 in the seventh inning and threatened to push across more with two outs and two runners in scoring position, a fine running catch by Gonzales in right gave the Dirtbags’ bats a shot to win the game outright in the bottom of the final frame.
One-out line drive. See it through.
And with the top of the order again leading the way, Hollister capitalized. Loading the bases on a Brian Haggett double sandwiched around two walks, relief pitcher Bryan Scott drove in Andrade for the winning run, handing Hollister an 8-7 victory.
“It’s pretty big,” Medeiros said of the win. “They’re a good team. It just shows how good we really are and we can compete with really good teams.”
Asked to describe the summer-league atmosphere, Medeiros said, “Just pretty much having a good time. It’s still competitive when you’re out there on the field, but it’s not as intense as league play.”
Even for the coach. The frequent directives from the dugout are so commonplace with Luna at the helm that the mid-game zinger almost slipped by.
Two outs. Take a chance out there, Nathan. … Expect the pick here. … Hit the ball the other way, Bryan. … Scott, what’s the score you’ve got? How many runs did they get in the last inning?
WHAT!? Coach Luna asking a reporter for the score? I was floored.
But, hey. Who else would keep score at a summer-league baseball game?
