The Hollister A’s didn’t look like a league champion, let alone
a district champion at the start of the season.
Hollister – The Hollister A’s didn’t look like a league champion, let alone a district champion at the start of the season.
After losing three of their first four games to begin the year, including a 10-0 loss in which nothing went right, the A’s won their next 14 games and finished with a 25-5 record.
The turnaround was complete Wednesday night in Salinas after beating fellow league rival, the Hollister Rockies, 3-1 for the District 9 Tournament of Champions title. Three of the four semifinalists in the district tournament were from Hollister.
“Sometimes a loss like that will wake you up,” said A’s manager, Bob Henderson. “They just caught on fire. We kept telling them to work hard and have a positive attitude and good things could happen. They kept getting better and better.”
The two teams faced each other twice during the regular season. The A’s won in extra innings in the first matchup then pulled away late to win the second game.
In the deciding game, the Rockies had runners at second and third base with one in the top of the sixth. After A’s starter Rudy Sanchez reached his maximum pitch count, Austin Blake came in and struck out the next two batters to end the game. The A’s dugout rushed onto the field to celebrate.
The A’s, who have had to come from behind in their last four games of the tournament, fell behind early when the Rockies scored a run in the third inning.
Cade Vallejo walked and Nick Chicoine, who went 3-for-3, hit a triple. Sage Leadem had a double in the middle innings for the Rockies, but the A’s pitching kept them off balance for most of the game.
“We had lots of base runners, but we couldn’t get that key hit or get that mistake by the A’s,” said Rockies coach, Craig Vallejo. “Their pitcher is probably one of of the top pitchers in the league. We played a great game and played great defense.”
The A’s tied the game in the fourth. Sanchez walked, Robert Henderson hit a single, and Dylan Yamasaki hit an RBI single to bring in Joey Marfia, who came in to pinch run for Sanchez.
The A’s added two more runs in the fifth inning. Henderson and Yamasaki drew bases-loaded walks to bring in Marcos Perez and Tony Amaral.
“That is a great performance by them to stay focused after being down,” Henderson said. “I am really proud of the team. At that age, to keep their composure like that is great.”
