The last two remaining Little League All-Star teams, the
Hollister Junior League All-Stars and the Hollister National 9- and
10-year-old All-Stars, were eliminated from the Section 5 All-Star
Tournament on Tuesday night
HOLLISTER
The Hollister Junior League All-Stars allowed three unearned runs and lost to Almaden 5-4 Tuesday night in the consolation semifinals of the Section 5 All-Star Tournament at Willow Glen High School in San Jose.
Hollister, which was coming off a 12-0 loss to Los Altos on Monday, has been eliminated from Section 5 contention.
“We couldn’t play catch,” Hollister manager Todd Freitas said. “If we can play catch, we win the game.”
The local Junior League All-Stars grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Michael Breen singled on and was then bunted over to second by Dylan Ito before stealing third base. Craig Slibsager then trailed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Breen from third and supplying Hollister with the early lead.
But Almaden answered with one run in the third inning to knot the game at 1-all, then scored three runs off of three Hollister errors in the fourth to grab a 4-1 lead.
Almaden added another run in the fifth to go up by a 5-1 margin.
See this week’s installment of The San Benito Score below with youth baseball highlights.
Hollister didn’t respond until the sixth inning when Josh George reached base on an error, then advanced to second on a pass ball before Slibsager pushed him to third on a single. Richie Beltran then followed with a ground out, which scored George to make it a 5-2 deficit.
In the seventh, things seemed to be going Hollister’s way when Cody Freitas led off with a double, and Cody Cameron followed with a single.
With runners on the corners and nobody out, Freitas made it a 5-3 game when he scored on a pass ball, moving Cameron to second, while Jordan Lopes then connected on an RBI single to plate Cameron and make it a 5-4 contest.
But the one-run deficit was as close as Hollister would get, as Almaden finally thwarted the threat to hold on for the 5-4 victory.
It’s the second straight year Almaden has eliminated Hollister. Last year, Almaden defeated Hollister in the championship final.
“I thanked them (Tuesday) for buying into our coaching staff’s philosophy,” Freitas said. “It took 13 kids to get this far into it.”
Hollister finishes its season as District 9 champions.
“We played hard. We didn’t lose because of a lack of effort,” Freitas said. “They fought right to the bitter end.
“It was a great group of kids and they fought hard, and we have a great core of kids coming back next year.”
National 9-10
The Hollister National 9- and 10-year-old All-Stars lost 12-7 to Saratoga in the consolation semifinals of the Section 5 All-Star Tournament at Harvey West Park in Santa Cruz on Tuesday.
Coupled with its narrow 3-2 loss to District 59 on Monday night, Hollister National has been eliminated from Section 5 contention as a result.
“We pitched well. We hit well,” National manager Dave Marquez said. “But if you don’t put all three phases together, you’ll lose.”
Hollister actually led 6-2 at one point, but Saratoga plated six runs in the fifth to go up 11-6, a lead it never relinquished. Marquez said his team committed eight errors in the contest, which turned out to be the difference in the end.
Competing with six 9-year-old players, though, Marquez said his team was usually younger than the competition, but should be stronger next season.
“They competed pretty well,” Marquez said. “I’m proud of the kids. They never gave up.”
Hollister National completes its season as District 9 champions.
