The Hollister American 11-and-under All-Star team saw its fine season come to an end on Tuesday in a loss to Los Altos in the championship round of the Section 5 Tournament at Berryessa Little League Field in San Jose.
Hollister lost its first game in sectionals only to reel off three straight wins to reach the title round, where it needed to beat undefeated Los Altos twice to win the championship. Hollister opened up the tourney with a 12-1 loss to Los Altos before reeling off an 8-6 win over Santa Teresa, a 9-7 victory over Willow Glen and a 9-5 victory over Watsonville American.
The Hollister American roster includes Brandon Flores, Julien Garcia, Ladanian Gaytan, Alexis Gomez, Nathan Martinez, Keith Mateo Pelaiz Jr., Mateo Reyes, Jaret Ruano-Perez, Ethan Salcedo, Tristan Schmidt, Christian Valdez, Alex Valencia and Ernesto Zamora.
The team ran roughshod over the competition in the District 9 Tournament two weeks ago, winning four pool-play games by a combined margin of 52-2. Valdez hit a three-run home run in Tuesday’s triumph over Watsonville, igniting a huge celebration. Ruano-Perez went 4 for 4, Martinez was 3 for 3 and Flores 2 for 2. Gomez pitched 4 1/3 innings and Garcia the final 1 2/3 innings.
In Monday’s win over Willow Glen, Martinez hit a walk-off, two-run home run. American trailed 7-4 entering the bottom of the sixth inning before unleashing some late-inning heroics. The team received strong pitching performances from Ruano-Perez, Garcia and Valencia, who also hit three doubles.
Ruano-Perez, who went 3 for 3 in the District 9 title contest, has been the ace of a tremendous staring pitching corps that includes Schmidt and Gomez. Garcia has also been strong in closing out games.
“Julien is a very hard thrower and someone you can bring in to close out other teams,” American manager Rey Martinez said.
In the District 9 final, Garcia did it all, bashing a three-run home run. Gaytan and Ruano-Perez have also belted home runs.
“We have a lot of power up and down the lineup,” Martinez said.
Hollister was playing at a high level in the District 9 Tournament. Even though the competition got tougher in the semifinals and finals, Hollister was simply too tough.
It overwhelmed Hartnell 13-7 in the semis before whipping Hollister National 8-1 in the championship game.
