It didn’t look good for the San Benito Babe Ruth 16- to
18-year-old All-Stars on Monday night, not when Hanford’s Brandon
Putnam blasted a two-run homer over the left field wall to lift the
out-of-towners to a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.
But the lead, surprisingly, was short-lived. After the first two
batters went in order to open the home half of the sixth, San
Benito sparked a two-out rally that was capped when Cody Gessell,
the No. 8 hitter in the lineup, lifted a game-changing, two-out,
two-run double over the left fielder’s head, scoring both Skyler
Shaw-Fuss and Tyler Quinby and leapfrogging the locals toward an
improbable 4-3 victory at Hollister’s Veterans Memorial Park.
HOLLISTER
It didn’t look good for the San Benito Babe Ruth 16- to 18-year-old All-Stars on Monday night, not when Hanford’s Brandon Putnam blasted a two-run homer over the left field wall to lift the out-of-towners to a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.
But the lead, surprisingly, was short-lived.
After the first two batters went in order to open the home half of the sixth, San Benito sparked a two-out rally that was capped when Cody Gessell, the No. 8 hitter in the lineup, lifted a game-changing, two-out, two-run double over the left fielder’s head, scoring both Skyler Shaw-Fuss and Tyler Quinby and leapfrogging the locals toward an improbable 4-3 victory at Hollister’s Veterans Memorial Park.
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Gessell was 2-for-3 in the game with a key two RBI, while the Palma product Quinby finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored and Craig Slibsager went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Hanford’s Shawn Kelly went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
San Benito, which previously defeated Hanford earlier in the Central California State Tournament by a similar one-run score — their first meeting was 3-2 — will now look to avenge its only loss in the tournament on Tuesday night when it squares off against Watsonville in the championship final.
First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. A second game, if necessary, is scheduled to begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1.
A second game would only be necessary if San Benito is able to win the first game, as Watsonville is currently undefeated and even topped the local Senior Babe Ruth team earlier in the tournament by a 12-2 margin.
Double-digit scores on Monday night in the elimination bracket semifinals never transpired, though, not with the pitcher’s duel between San Benito’s Robert Soto (6IP, 6H, 3R, 2ER, 2K) and Hanford’s Gage Dominguez (5.2IP, 8H, 4R, 3ER, 7K, 1BB).
Soto gave up the first run, although it was unearned when Eian Raeber reached first base on an error and later scored after teammate Luke Tessman’s steal attempt drew a throw to second base, allowing Raeber just enough time to swipe home and beat the tag.
San Benito later tied the game in the bottom of the second when Slibsager singled on and moved to third following on a fielder’s choice and a pitch in the dirt. He later scored on an RBI single to right field by Quinby, knotting the game even through two innings.
San Benito grabbed its first lead an inning later when Soto reached first on an error, swiped second base and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice before being knocked home on a run-scoring single by Slibsager.
The lead held until the sixth when Putnam’s two-run home run cleared the 330-foot sign in left field, setting up the bottom-of-the-sixth heroics by Gessell.
Gessell’s go-ahead hit followed a Skyler Shaw-Fuss walk and a Quinby double, each of which came with two outs for San Benito, and it knocked Dominguez from the game.
Hanford reliever Eian Raeber pitched just the third out of the sixth, picking up a strikeout, while San Benito’s Kevin Salvas tossed a 1-2-3 seventh in relief of Soto, striking out one as well.
San Benito and Watsonville, which includes San Benito High graduates like Justin Schlie and Ricky Garcia, will square off Tuesday night, with the winner advancing to the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament.
Little League — 10-11
The Hollister National 10- and 11-year-old All-Stars advanced to the championship final of the California District 9 All-Star Tournament on Monday night when they defeated Hartnell 9-5 in the elimination bracket semifinals at Continental Little League in Salinas.
The win places Hollister National into Wednesday’s final against Soledad, which defeated Hollister National earlier in the tournament by a 14-3 margin.
That loss came during Hollister National’s very first game of the tournament. The team has since rifled off five straight wins through the elimination bracket to advance to the championship, and earn a second date with Soledad.
The championship is scheduled for Gonzales Little League on Wednesday night. First pitch is 7 p.m.
If necessary, a second game would be held Thursday in Gonzales at 7 p.m.
Soledad hasn’t played since Saturday, when it defeated Hartnell 12-2 in the semifinals.
Little League — 9-10
The Hollister National 9- and 10-year-old “A” All-Stars defeated the Hollister American “A” All-Stars by a 10-0 margin in the California District 9 All-Star Tournament championship on Monday night in Soledad, and will advance to the upcoming Section 5 Tournament.
Hollister National previously defeated Hartnell 12-0 last Wednesday in the semifinals, but the layoff didn’t appear to have much of an affect. Hollister American, meanwhile, had won three straight to advance to the title game, but would have needed to defeat their in-town counterparts twice in order to claim the District 9 banner.
The Section 5 Tournament is tentatively scheduled to begin July 16.
