The Hollister American 9-10 All-Star team played well in winning the District 9 tournament, but it simply faced two superior opponents in sectionals.
Hollister opened up the Section 5 tournament with a 8-2 loss to Gilroy on July 12 before falling to Aptos 11-4 a day later in an elimination game. Despite going two-and-out in sectionals, Hollister had a number of extraordinary moments in a highlight-filled season.
The team’s 7-6, 10-inning win over Hollister National on June 28 in the pool play round was one for the ages.
“It was truly epic,” said Hollister American manager Frank Reyes, whose team went a perfect 8-0 in the District 9 tournament. “If there was one game we had to win, that was it. We built a lot of character after winning that game.”
Indeed, American had to score four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning just to extend the game, then scored a run with no outs in the bottom of the 10th to seal the outcome. American started the home half of the 10th on a single from Chase Freeman, who scored moments later on a D.J. Lopes double.
The victory underscored American’s play during the District 9 tournament, as four of the eight games it won was by two runs or less.
“I don’t think we were the favorites to win district, but the boys played well under pressure,” Reyes said. “Once they won that first close game, they seemed to thrive off that experience.”
Playing in pressure packed situations definitely paid off in the team’s 8-7 victory over Gonzalez in the championship game. Hollister actually led 8-0 after two innings before holding off a game Gonzalez squad.
Jack Brothers was the offensive star, going 2-for-3 with four RBI. Ethan Fowles had two hits, and Lopes earned the win by pitching four innings of three-run ball.
Reyes will always remember how the team managed to stay calm whenever the game was close.
“You couldn’t count out our boys in any way,” he said. “Falling behind was not a deathblow to them.”
Reyes said what made the team so unique was the fact it had more AAA players on the roster than kids who played in the Majors Division during the spring season.
In Little League, there is a draft before the start of every season. The best players are usually drafted to the Majors Division. Once all of the rosters are filled up, players are then drafted into AAA, then AA. Out of the players on Hollister’s roster, eight were from the AAA division and five from the Majors.
“Kids in the Majors play more games, and they see more competitive baseball, players with a slightly higher skill set,” Reyes said. “The kids from the Majors on our team provided great leadership experience, which elevated the level of play of everyone on the team.”
Lopes, Brothers, Freeman, Dean Freund and Matthew Mata were the five players who played in the Majors Division during the regular season. Despite ending the season on a two-game losing streak, Reyes said the players displayed grit until the very end.
In both games, Hollister loaded the bases in the sixth inning but was unable to score.
“That first game against Gilroy, I felt we had a really strong chance to win,” Reyes said. “I don’t know if it was because we had five or six days off, but we came out really flat and didn’t play our best baseball. Aptos was a strong team, and that was going to be a hard game to win. They used six pitchers in that game, and every one of them could’ve been our No. 1 or 2. The important thing is the boys gave it a good fight all the way to the end.”
The 2014 Hollister American 9-10 All-Star roster: Manager—Frank Reyes. Coaches—Rob Nino, Carlton Pace. Players—Vincent Nino, Primo Reyes, Matthew Mata, Keon Texeira, Jack Brothers, Ethan Fowles, Chase Freeman, Daniel Lopes, Michael Canez, Ethan Coffeen, Jackson Pace, Dean Freund, Andrew Flores.
