The 11/12 National All-Stars of Hollister Little League took a
big step in their quest to earn a trip to Williamsport with a 13-3
drubbing of Suisun American in the opening round of the Division 2
Major Tournament in Milpitas on Friday.
Milpitas – The 11/12 National All-Stars of Hollister Little League took a big step in their quest to earn a trip to Williamsport with a 13-3 drubbing of Suisun American in the opening round of the Division 2 Major Tournament in Milpitas on Friday.
“These kids have been in this situation before,” said Hollister manager Jerry Sepulveda. “They all know that the loser’s bracket isn’t the way to go. Everybody was focused on getting a win in the first game. We did and it’s a very big confidence builder for us.”
Hollister starting pitcher Ricky Garcia had a tremendous game both on the mound and at the plate. The Hollister hurler went four innings for the win, giving up only one hit and striking out six.
Garcia also made sure early on that he was going to have the upper hand in this one. As Hollister’s first batter of the game, Garcia ripped a shot over the fence to start the scoring.
Hollister added another run in the first as Daniel Arevalo reached on a double before being brought across on a two-out double by Cooper Sepulveda.
Hollister wound up with four home runs on Friday. Including Garcia’s dramatic lead-off shot, Arevalo got one, Mark Hurley blasted a three-run homer in the third and Adrian Casarez hit one out in the fourth.
The Hollister defense was on its game Friday as well. In the fifth, Suisun American managed to load the bases with one out. But a line drive to Arevalo at short ended the threat as Arevalo flipped the ball to Hurley, who rifled it in to Sepulveda at first. Sepulveda stretched out on the bag, made the grab and recorded the out.
Hollister is back in action Sunday at 1pm in Milpitas to face a tough Tracy team for a spot in Tuesday’s semifinal game.
