11’s win with pitching; 11-12’s dominate from start
The 11-year-old All-Star matchup at Continental Park in Salinas on Tuesday turned into a pitching duel.
Hollister will be hosting the five-team Section 5 All-Star tournament, which begins on Friday. The first game for the American team, which was the only Hollister All-Star team not lot lose a game, will be against the District 59 champion (Berryessa) and the District 39 champion.
Nick Hernandez gave up just two hits in the game for the American team. Both were in the first inning to the second and third batters – Stewart Petri and Mark Hurley.
The only other runner that the National team had was a leadoff walk in the third inning by Rolando Robles.
“He hasn’t really thrown his curve ball much for strikes all tournament said manager Mitch Burley. “But everything was working tonight.”
Robles was almost as good on the mound for the Hollister National. He gave up seven hits in the game, but for the most part National runners were retired.
In the second inning, Enrique Lopez hit a double to the wall, but National was able to throw him out at second base in a shallow field.
Jacob Cabral led off the third inning with a single but was forced out on the next play.
With two outs, Andre Lucas had a hit. With runners on first and third, Mark Nakata hit a ball that was overthrown. Lucas scored but was ruled to have left early.
Lucas was kicking dirt around the mound when the pitcher stepped on the mound.
“It was the right call,” Burley said after appealing it by phone.
Even though they weren’t able to score in the inning, they still got a run in the fifth inning.
Conner Stevens reached on an error. Lucas bunted him over to second. Matt Burley hit an infield single that dribbled through. And Eddie Vargas had a clean single to bring him in.
In the game on Sunday that the American won 4-3 in seven innings between the teams. The Nationals also had two errors, while the Americans had one.
11-12’s
The Hollister American team used its momentum from its previous victory on Monday to outslug the Hollister National team 14-2 at Ferrasci Park in Salinas for the title.
The Americans will play in the Section 5 tournament Saturday at 2 p.m. at Santa Clara’s Westside Little League field.
Josh Villegas hit two home runs in the game – a two-run shot in first and a solo shot in the second.
Trevor Fabing also hit a solo home run in the second inning. And Trevor Gessell launched a three-run shot in the fourth inning straight away over the center field fence.
The Americans jumped out early with six runs with 10 batters in the first inning.
“The kids just came out swinging,” said manager Steve Gessell. “They’ve been getting a lot of good cuts in practice, and it’s really paying off now.”
Zozaya pitched all four innings for the Americans, facing just 17 batters. For the Nationals, Danny Arevalo and Trevor Raisbeck pitched.
The Nationals had two solo home runs in the second inning. Nick Acosta led off with a shot, and Cooper Sepulveda also went deep.
The Americans scored two runs in the second, three in the third and then three in the fourth.
Hollister American turned two double plays in the game. In the first inning, Zozaya snared a line drive and threw to first to get the runner leading off.
In the third inning with a runner at second, the Americans turned a 6-3-5 double play. Gessell, at shortstop, fired the ball to first baseman Tyler Provost, who threw the ball across the diamond to Darin Gillies at third. Gillies put the tag on for the out.
Offensively, Gillies was 3-for-3.
“There was no way we thought the National team would go down like this,” Gessell said. “We were hoping to get two for one punches but ended up getting four or five punched for each one punch.”
