The Hollister Headhunters 10U travel baseball team won its first
tournament of the fall season last weekend, besting all competition
to go undefeated in the Summer Finish in Manteca
HOLLISTER
The Hollister Headhunters 10U travel baseball team won its first tournament of the fall season last weekend, besting all competition to go undefeated in the Summer Finish in Manteca.
The Headhunters opened the tournament against the Turlock Renegades, which it easily handled by a score of 12-0. The comfortable victory featured a four-inning shutout by pitcher Izzak Olejnik, who allowed just one hit and one base runner during the shortened contest.
Hollister followed its sizable win with its toughest battle of the weekend, however, when it played Hard 90 Pastime from Roseville. The Headhunters, though, outlasted Hard 90 10-7 behind the combined pitching efforts of Zach Mata, Sammy Vicencio and Drew Williams.
The game featured spectacular run-saving catches from outfielders Nico Lopez and Josh Zanger, as well as an inside-the-park home run by the shortstop Williams.
The three-run victory advanced the Headhunters to Sunday morning’s semifinal round, where Hollister faced the Los Banos Bulldogs. Behind the arm of Tim Manderson, who allowed just two hits and had eight strikeouts in the shortened affair, the Headhunters easily dispatched the Bulldogs by a 10-0 margin after just four innings of play.
The game was called due to the 10-run mercy rule and advanced Hollister to the championship final, where it met the Turlock Renegades once again, a team the Headhunters silenced in its first game, 10-0.
And once again, the Renegades proved to be no match.
Davonte Butler pitched yet another complete-game shutout in just five innings of play, while also racking up eight strikeouts en route to a 9-0 Hollister victory.
The game was highlighted by a tournament-ending double play in which Williams tossed a ground ball to Matt Hill at second, who then threw to Mata in an attempt to back door a runner at third. The runner broke for home and Mata threw to Manderson to tag the runner for the final out.
The Headhunters played error-free ball throughout the tournament, and were led on offense by Williams (.727), Mata (.600), Vicencio (.429) and Derek Moeller (.429).
Hollister will play next on Aug. 29 in Tracy.
