CUPERTINO – And then there were two.
The little whippersnappers that could
– Hollister National – slew the giants of San Mateo American in
a Division 2 9-10 year-old All-Stars elimination game Tuesday night
at Wilson Park in Cupertino.
CUPERTINO – And then there were two.
The little whippersnappers that could – Hollister National – slew the giants of San Mateo American in a Division 2 9-10 year-old All-Stars elimination game Tuesday night at Wilson Park in Cupertino.
Daniel Arevalo’s long single off the left field fence with one out in the bottom of the sixth scored Cooper Sepulveda from third base to give Hollister National a spellbinding 6-5 victory.
National has another crack at Alameda as the only two teams remaining play tonight at Tri-Cities Little League Field at 5:30 p.m. A win by Alameda and it is the Division 2 champion. A Hollister National victory and a showdown game takes place Thursday – same time, same station – with everything at stake.
There were many heroes for Hollister National Tuesday. Sepulveda drew a base on balls from San Mateo’s hard-throwing reliever Geo Saba. As Sepulveda reached first, Saba threw the ball to first baseman Justin Wulbers for, perhaps, an attempt at the old hidden ball trick. The ball escaped Wulbers and rolled down the right field fence area about 20 yards in foul territory. Sepulveda stopped momentarily while rounding second, then sped to third as Wulbers ran the ball in. Wulbers’ throw to third was too late to get Sepulveda.
That brought up the hot-hitting Arevalo, who stung the ball off Saba for a basehit in the fourth and had doubled off the left-center field fence in the first inning off starter Sam Tuivailala. No one was more conscious of that fact than San Mateo American manager Kendall Miller. Miller had every intention of walking Arevalo intentionally, but changed his mind after a private conversation with Saba on the first baseline.
Arevalo took a pitch up high for ball one. The next pitch he didn’t miss, sending it deep to left.
It looked like it might get out, but it came down on the base of the wall as Sepulveda waltzed home with the game-winner.
“I thought he might walk me,” said Arevalo, who was hearing chants of ‘Let’s go, Daniel! Let’s go Daniel!’ as he was getting ready to bat. “I was surprised when they didn’t.”
Arevalo made a winner out of Jahziel Gonzalez, who relieved Rolo Robles with one out in the sixth and with the bases loaded. Gonzalez struck out the first batter looking, then fanned the next batter swinging at two dandy curveballs in the dirt.
Robles, who pitched 5.1 innings, deserves a lot of the credit, too. He suffered a three-run first by San Mateo American, then settled down to retire six out of seven hitters in the second and third innings. He yielded just five hits against a good hitting San Mateo American team.
“His changeup and curve had our batters out front,” said Miller.
“Robles gave us a great ballgame,” said Hollister National manager Jerry Sepulveda. “That San Mateo team has a lot of big hitters.”
Down 3-0 in the bottom of the first, Hollister National decided to fight back instead of quit. A one-out walk to Sepulveda was followed by Arevalo’s double. Oscar Ramirez walked to fill the bases. Adrian Casarez drove the first pitch he saw from Tuivailala into the left-center field gap for two runs. Casarez eventually scored on the first of three hits from Joey Schulman, the only nine year-old on this Hollister National team.
San Mateo American’s defense collapsed in the third with four errors, producing two National runs. Hollister National did have three straight singles by Casarez, Schulman and Gonzalez in the inning.
A long sac fly by San Mateo’s Andrew Vanisi which was flagged down nicely by Ricky Garcia in center, plated Tuivailala to knot the game at 5-5.
“It was a great battle,” said Miller. “We came out on fire in that first inning and Hollister National really fought back. It was just a great game.”
“I could tell that our team was focused before the game,” stated Jerry Sepulveda. “I was observing the kids and they were talking about baseball and having fun. They were loose, which is why we played so well.”
Gonzalez is expected to start for Hollister National, with Arevalo set for Thursday if necessary.
National notes: Arevalo is now 6-10 (.600) for the the tournament and 24-39 for the entire postseason, a .615 average…..Ramirez made a nice stab of a Ryan Spencer line drive with a runner on at first and no outs in the fourth….Hollister National had nine hits, eight combined from Arevalo, Schulman and Casarez….Each team struck out eight times.
San MA 300 110 – 5 5 5
Hol Nat 302 001 – 6 9 2
Tuivailala, Saba (4) and Lucido; Robles, Gonzalez (6) and Gonzalez, Garcia (6). WP-Gonzalez. LP-Saba. 2B – Wulbers (SMA); Arevalo, Casarez (HN). 3 hits – Arevalo, Schulman (HN). 2 hits – Tuivailala (SMA); Casarez (HN). 2 RBI – Wulbers (SMA); Casarez (HN).
