Brewers avenge their only loss of the year
GONZALES –– Hollister’s top teams met Thursday night to decide who would bring home the District 9 Majors title.
The Brewers and the Yankees played a game worthy of champions. But it was the Brewers who walked away with the banner and the final bragging rights between the two teams.
“It was a great game, but we just ran out of luck,” said Yankees manager Robert Fabing. “But we lost to a great team. I knew coming into the game we would have to play flawless to beat them.”
Last time the teams met, the Yankees’ No. 1 pitcher Kyle Vallejo shut down the Brewers to give the Brewers their only loss of the season.
But Vallejo was unavailable Thursday because he had pitched earlier in the week.
The Yankees, who finished their season with a 22-4 record and won 15 game in a row, took an early lead in the game, but the Brewers came back to win the championship.
“They jumped on us early and thought they had it,” said Brewers manager Oscar Ramirez. “But most of season was like that for us. We’ve had a lot of games where we had to come back.”
After giving up three runs in the first three innings, the Brewers scored two runs in the third inning.
A base hit by Paul Cardonali got the Brewers started. Timmy Christensen was hit by a pitch, and the Yankees intentionally walked the dangerous Daniel Arevalo, who led the league with 15 home runs.
Jeff Jones provided the big hit of the inning with a double to the fence drive in two runs.
The Brewers (24-1) broke it open with four runs in the fourth inning. With one out, Christensen had a base hit to bring in Isaac Ramos, who led off the inning with a walk. And Jacob Funk, who had a bunt hit, scored on Arevalo’s hit. Cardonali laid down a bunt to bring in a run.
With the bases loaded, Christensen, at third base, was able to draw the throw from the catcher to third and then took off as soon as it was thrown to score the final run in the inning. He was able to slide in safely to beat the return throw.
“I told him take a good lead, and I saw the catcher eyeing him so I told him not to come back,” Ramirez said.
In the first inning, Kyle Vallejo got things started for the Yankees with a two-out base hit and scored on a hit by Darren Gillies. Will Cross had another hit to drive in a run.
Gillies hit a home run for the Yankees in the third inning but that was all they could get off Arevalo, who threw a strong game on the mound.
Arevalo went the distance for the Brewers, giving up five hits and striking out four.
Trevor Fabing had a solid performance for the Yankees. He was relieved in the fourth inning by Gillies, who finished the game.
The Yankees threatened in the fifth inning, but shortstop Oscar Ramirez turned a double play by tagging second and throwing to first to end the threat.
