Both Hollister and Lincoln Glen managers were suspended for two games after their part in Tuesday’s 11-year-old All-Star game, which was eventually ruled to have been won by Hollister.
With the bases loaded, Hollister was about to win by the ten-run rule.
But the Willow Glen pitcher stepped up to the mound and rolled the ball off the mound, trying to intentionally walk the final batter so he would not get the full inning in required by Little League rules.
Hollister coach Mitch Burley protested the stalling of the game, but said he was also at fault because he didn’t send a runner home from third base.
About 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Burley received a call from Hollister Tournament Director Joe Tonascia informing him that he had won the protest and the game. As a result, the team would be meeting Lincoln Glen for the second time for the championship Wednesday evening.
After Burley called his team informing them that they would be playing, he received another call from Tonascia. Tonascia told him that the Little League office in San Bernadino has suspended him as well.
“I didn’t really question the sentence because it was kind of an ugly situation,” Burley said. “I don’t want the crowd to get unruly if they see me there and not him.”
Burley said overall he was happy with how the ruling turned out.
“We earned the opportunity to play in the championship game, and I hate see it taken away by a little rule like that,” Burley said. “That is why I protested it. I don’t think either team would have really wanted to win or lose that way. They let the best teams play.”
Assistant coaches Donnie Cabral and Rich Hunter took over for the Hollister team in the championship.
