The season ended for the Pony League Colt Division San Jose PAL All-Star team Monday night four wins short of a trip to the World Series.
The Hollister-filled All-Star team fell for only its second time in 27 games, but this time it ended their season in the quarterfinals of the West Zone NorCal-Central Region championship tournament.
In Monday’s elimination game against Columbia Basin, Washington, the Hollister team traded earlier runs and took a 3-2 lead into the fourth inning. But it was there the game turned for good.
Off San Jose starting pitcher Connor Fabing, Washington retook the lead with a 2-run home run in the fourth. Two innings later, Washington pulled away with three runs coming off three hits and an error.
“That was the back breaker,” manager Robert Fabing said.
San Jose scored its first run in the second inning to tie the game at 1 with a an RBI single by Troy Ocampo.
In the third inning, San Jose took its only lead – at 3-2 – with an RBI single by Daniel Gonzales and bases-loaded walk by Connor Fabing. That was the last run, though, San Jose could muster.
“We started off a little flat,” Robert Fabing said. “The kids were tired. Playing four days in a row, I think it finally got us.”
The tournament was still a success for the team, Fabing said.
“It was a lot of baseball,” Fabing said. “We crammed 27 games into two months and it was a great experience for them. They played a lot of baseball and it was fun. They got better every game and that’s all you can ask.”
