After suffering a 6-1 loss to Rocklin last Tuesday in the NorCal
Division II semifinals, the Hollister Junior League All-Stars
nearly found the antidote against the Section 4 representative in
Thursday night’s championship. But with two of its three hits
recorded in the bottom of the seventh of a 1-1 ball game, Rocklin
found the last-inning edge and walked off with a 2-1 victory and
the NorCal crown.
HOLLISTER
After suffering a 6-1 loss to Rocklin last Tuesday in the NorCal Division II semifinals, the Hollister Junior League All-Stars nearly found the antidote against the Section 4 representative in Thursday night’s championship.
But with two of its three hits recorded in the bottom of the seventh of a 1-1 ball game, Rocklin found the last-inning edge and walked off with a 2-1 victory and the NorCal crown.
“We played a really sound game last night,” Hollister manager Todd Freitas said. “We just needed one more hit.”
Hollister would have needed to defeat Rocklin on Thursday night in order to force a second, winner-take-all final on Friday as well. But the team’s postseason run, which began with a District 9 title and later a Section 5 banner, fell just a few wins short of a trip to the Western Regional.
Hollister outscored its opponents 44-20 at state and 131-32 overall for the three tournaments.
“Even though we lost 2-1, the kids left it all out on the field,” Freitas said.
Robert Soto tossed 6.2 innings of one-hit baseball for Hollister on Thursday night, walking four while striking out five.
But a bit of bad luck and some questionable calls in the very first inning allowed Rocklin to take a 1-0 lead. Soto hit a batter in the first frame, who then advanced to third on two balk calls before being knocked in on a fielder’s choice ground out.
“The runner should not have been at third base at that time, so it’s tough,” Freitas said.
Hollister managed to tie the game at 1-all in the fourth when Cody Freitas reached second on a double and later scored on an infield single by Chris Manderson. But a pair of hits by Rocklin in the bottom of the seventh snapped the tie game and provided the Section 4 rep with a tight victory.
“We had three opportunities with runners in scoring position and we didn’t get that two-out hit that we had been getting all year,” Freitas said. “It was a great game, don’t get me wrong. We outhit them. It was a team we could have beat, but we didn’t get it done.”
Hollister had lost to Rocklin 6-1 in the semifinal round, which placed Rocklin in the championship and moved Hollister to the elimination bracket. But after Hollister topped Half Moon Bay 20-10 in Wednesday’s elimination bracket game, the local all-stars earned a second chance against Rocklin the championship round.
The difference in the two games against Rocklin, Freitas said, was “we played catch this game.”
The Junior League All-Stars finish its three-tournament postseason as runner-up in Northern California, which is the furthest any Junior League team from Hollister has advanced. The local all-stars outhit their opponents 129 to 40 — 48 to 25 at state — and compiled a team batting average of .391 and a team slugging percentage of .651.
Jordan Lopes and Cody Freitas led Hollister at the plate when they compiled overall batting averages of .581 and .432, respectively.
“It was the funnest ride I’ve ever been on,” Freitas said. “We ended up second in the state and that’s a great accomplishment. I can’t thank the kids, the parents and the coaching staff enough. All those ingredients made for a successful season.
“I wish them nothing but the best in their future endeavors.”
HOLL — 1 5 1
ROCK — 2 3 1
