Hollister American, National continue winning ways in 11- and
12-year-old division
Tracy
Considered the team to beat year in and year out, the San Benito Babe Ruth 15-year-olds finally met their match against Manteca last weekend at the District 1 State Qualifier Tournament in Tracy, where the local All-Stars lost in the semifinals, 4-1.
But the party didn’t last long, as San Benito, battling back through the losers bracket, defeated Manteca twice in the championship game last Sunday to claim their third straight D-1 title.
Advancing past Modesto in the consolation semifinals, San Benito defeated Manteca 7-1 in the championship to force a second game in the double elimination tournament. In a winner-take-all match-up, San Benito then upended Manteca again 15-6 to seal the district title.
“I don’t know how to explain it. They’re just a good fit,” manager Jerry Sepulveda said. “I don’t think there was much of a difference from [the 4-1 loss] to the two games on Sunday, except we made better contact and put the ball where they weren’t.
“These kids just felt like we needed to get this next game to get back to play these guys. They knew what to do. They didn’t panic. They stayed pretty focused.”
Sepulveda added that in the semifinal loss to Manteca, his team didn’t strikeout at all. In fact, they were hitting the ball rather soundly.
“Their right-fielder made three diving catches with runners in scoring position for the third out,” he said. “We hit the ball all day long, but just right at people.”
Ricky Garcia was absent from San Benito’s semifinal loss as well, but played in the championship round and acted as the “sparkplug,” Sepulveda said.
According to Sepulveda, Garcia went 4-for-7 with a pair of doubles, a triple, two RBIs and six runs scored in the two championship games against Manteca. Teammate Daniel Arevalo also supplied plenty of damage, going 5-for-7 with two doubles and five RBIs.
“Those guys tore it up,” Sepulveda said.
San Benito will represent District 1 in the state tournament on Saturday in Arroyo Grande, where they’re scheduled to play Tulare at 9 a.m. With a win, San Benito would play Sunday against the representative from District 6.
“They’ve beaten us the last two years,” said Sepulveda of District 6. “Those are the guys we’re looking forward to playing hopefully.”
Hollister Little League, District 9 Tournament
Making their way through the elimination bracket, the Hollister National 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars defeated King City Tuesday night 10-5 at Veterans Memorial Park in Hollister.
Hollister National will play Hartnell tonight, Wednesday, at 7 p.m. on Field 3 of Vets Park. Hartnell is coming off a 15-0 loss to Hollister American on Tuesday night.
Hollister American, which defeated Hollister National last Saturday, is currently in the semifinals. They’ll play Soledad on Thursday night on Field 2 at 7 p.m.
In the 10- and 11-year-old division, Hollister National defeated Ferrasci 13-2 Tuesday, and will face Soledad Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Salinas Continental in the semifinals.
Soledad beat Hollister American 6-4 Tuesday. Hollister American will now play King City tonight, Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m. at Salinas Ferrasci.
In the 9- and 10-year-old division, Hollister American A and Hollister National A will face off tonight, Wednesday, in the semifinals at Salinas Gonzales at 5:30 p.m.
In the elimination bracket, Hollister American B will face Hartnell Thursday at Salinas Gonzales at 5:30 p.m.
