Road comes to an end just short of the state title
On a warm Sunday morning two teams set out to accomplish a goal.
Davis and Hollister battled it out for the state championship. When
it was all said and done, just one run separated Hollister National
from Davis-American
– with Davis coming out on top and claiming the state title.
Road comes to an end just short of the state title
On a warm Sunday morning two teams set out to accomplish a goal. Davis and Hollister battled it out for the state championship. When it was all said and done, just one run separated Hollister National from Davis-American – with Davis coming out on top and claiming the state title.
The Hollister-National 9-10 year olds and Davis-American 9-10 year olds had played each other two times already in the tournament, each team winning once. Hollister beat Davis 6-5 in the first meeting Aug. 1, while Davis beat Hollister 5-4 – scoring the winning run in the bottom of the sixth on a hit-by-pitch – on August 4 to stay alive in the championship tournament.
The final game turned into an exciting pitcher’s duel quickly as both teams loaded the bases in the third inning and no runs were scored. In the bottom of the fifth with a runner on first, Andrew Breen hit one off the wall. The runner on first was thrown out trying to score, ending the inning.
In the top of the sixth, walks and hit batters again plagued Hollister-National. A hit-by-pitch scored the lone run for Davis in the sixth. Hollister’s last chance to claim the title ended with a pop-up in the infield. Hollister-National’s journey was ended just short of the state title with a 1-0 loss.
Manager Adam Breen was in shock over the outcome of the game, but remained proud of his baseball team.
“Wow,” Breen said. “How can you explain losing two games and the state title by hitting batters? It just doesn’t happen. But these are good kids and they have a lot of talent. They can have a chance to win it all one year.”
Despite the odd way the team lost, all the parents said they were happy and proud of their kids.
“They stuck together through it all,” said Sylvia Granger, Brandon Granger’s mother. “They gave it their all. They are still winners and are still the best.”
The run to the state title game was not an easy one, and the team had to avoid many obstacles.
The first obstacle for the all-star team was the local District 9 tournament where they stood up opponents from Salinas, King City, Soledad, Greenfield and Gonzales. The National team flew through the Winners bracket and set up a Hollister-National versus Hollister-American District championship game. The National all-stars escaped with a 6-3 victory and the District 9 title, which moved them onto the Section 5 tournament.
In the Section 5 tournament the 9-10-year-old all-star team met with the best players from the bay area in a double-elimination, 5-team tournament. Here the Hollister-National team played in a 13-inning game, pulling out with a 4-3 victory over Santa Clara-Westside. In Little League, most games only last six innings and this game lasted longer than many Major League Baseball games do. The Hollister boys came out on top. They eventually became Section 5 Champions after they defeated Saratoga in a 5-4 heart-stopper. In becoming Section 5 champions, they moved on to the Division II State tournament.
In the Division II Tournament, Hollister faced five of the very best teams in all of Northern California. Hollister defeated Porterville 7-2 and followed that victory with one over Davis-American, 6-5.
Hollister then awaited their opponent for the championship game, with the winner claiming the state title. The team Hollister sent to the Losers bracket the game before worked its way back and moved into the championship game for a rematch Aug 4.
That is where Hollister met their match and was defeated by Davis in back-to-back games – both by one run. Even though they lost, the team was still satisfied with their efforts.
“We tried really hard to get here,” Hunter Haworth said. “We were two of the best teams in the state and we worked as hard as we could.”
Win or lose, the Hollister-National 9-10 year-old team, made a huge effort and had a big impact on the community and no matter what, the community is proud of their achievements.
“They played real hard,” Mary Breen said. “They still have a great attitude. It does not matter that they lost. They are still the best team in Hollister.”
