Miscues and errors ended the season for the 9-10 Little League Hollister American All-Stars in a 7-6 loss to Los Gatos on Thursday in the championship game of the Section 5 tournament in Gonzales.
In the championship game, Hollister committed four errors which directly led to five Los Gatos runs, manager Richard McAbee said.
“The kids battled, they really battled,” McAbee said. “Pretty much our defense kept us from winning the game.”
Donnovan McAbee started for Hollister and allowed three runs in 4 2-3 innings. Matthew Sanders closed the game for American.
Hollister and Los Gatos traded runs through the first three innings to enter the fourth inning tied 3-3. But that’s when the game turned for Hollister. Taking advantage of a pair of Hollister miscues, Los Gatos scored three runs in the fourth inning to take command of the game. Hollister could never fully come back and tie the game.
Hollister and Los Gatos exchanged runs in the fifth inning to enter the final inning with Los Gatos leading 7-4. In the sixth inning with two outs, three-straight hits by Jake Yamasaki, Caden Bolding and Sanders brought American within one run of Los Gatos. But the game ended on a ground out.
“It was a good game, the kids really battled,” McAbee said. “I look forward to coaching them again.”
Kenny Moore and McAbee, once again, led Hollister at the plate. Moore finished the game with a pair of hits and McAbee powered American.
“All of the kids contributed,” McAbee said. “They did it all as a team.”
The game was Hollister’s fourth in five days.
“That was really tough to be honest,” he said. “That’s a lot of baseball.”
Combined with nearly two months of practice and one more tournament, it was rare for the 9-10 team to go a day without baseball.
“We played nine games in two weeks,” he said. “That’s going to take a toll.”
Regardless, McAbee was happy with what the team accomplished, he said.
“I’m proud of these kids,” he said. “We accomplished a lot of things. These are memories they are never going to forget.”
