National League champion’s only loss this season is to the
Yankees
Although the Hollister National Brewers team was put in the tougher bracket of the District 9 Tournament of Champions, the team may have a good chance of getting to the the championship game, which could be against the Yankees.
The Brewers’ only loss of the season was against the Yankees on May 4. Because the Yankees got the No. 1 seed, they have to play three games in the single elimination tournament to get to the championship, while the Brewers have to play four.
“It is hard to say how we will do,” said manager Oscar Ramirez. “We could easily meet the Yankees in the championship. But it all depends on how the other teams are. We haven’t seen them before, so anything can happen. We just have to take it day by day.”
For the Brewers, the secret of their success has been a good combination of hitting and pitching.
And having the league’s leading home run hitter Daniel Arevalo, coach Ramirez’s nephew, on the team doesn’t hurt either. Arevalo led the league with 15 home runs and won the home run derby. He hit a ball over the willow tree on Field 2 this year.
But Arevalo isn’t the only one who can hit the fences. There have been four other players who have hit the long ball, and there are a few others on the team who are capable of going deep.
Arevalo and Oscar Ramirez Jr. are the team’s star pitchers. But the Brewers also have guys like the versatile Tim Christensen, who can fill many spots and can pitch well. Those three players fill the top three spots in the lineup. Jeff Jones, Eddie Orasco and Isaac Ramos can also throw when needed.
Rick Lenoire, who bypassed Triple-A and went directly to Majors, hasn’t had a lot of hits this season but has still been able to help the team.
The Brewers were actually the Major Marlins for the last three years. But when coach Ramirez took over this year as head coach after being an assistant coach with the Marlins, he asked the league if he could change the name because he didn’t like the teal jerseys and he couldn’t get black Marlin shirts.
With the new name comes a new spark that has helped the team earn a spot in the Tournament of Champions. The Brewers open up against Salinas National on Saturday.
The Road to the playoffs
Brewers 21, Braves 2
Brewers 11, San Juan Bautista ‘1’ 2
Brewers 7, Cardinals 3
Brewers 6, Giants 2
Brewers 14, Rockies 1
Brewers 1, Diamondbacks 0
Brewers 5, Mets 4
Brewers 3, Orioles 1
Brewers 8, Rangers 0
Yankees 4, Brewers 2
Brewers 11, White Sox 4
Brewers 20, Angels 1
Brewers 12, Braves 1
Brewers 4, Mariners 1
Brewers 9, A’s 2
Brewers 1, Cardinals 0,
Brewers 10, San Juan Bautista ‘2’ 0
Brewers 3, Diamondbacks 2
Brewers 3, Giants 0
Brewers 10, Mets 2
Brewers 3, Rockies 2
