Sitting broadside at Field 2 of Vets Park Little League grounds
Wednesday night, I just had a feeling. The Hollister National 9-10
year-old All-Stars were in early stages of their Section
5-clinching win against Almaden. Daniel Arevalo was stepping up to
the plate with a runner on with none out in the second with
National up 6-0. I confided to a couple of Hollister Little League
railbirds that Arevalo was going to go yard. I repeated in kind,
motioning with my right arm to other side of the center field
fence, finally getting a response of the likes of Jerry Scott, Rich
Haggett and the elder Ronnie Fhurong.
Sitting broadside at Field 2 of Vets Park Little League grounds Wednesday night, I just had a feeling. The Hollister National 9-10 year-old All-Stars were in early stages of their Section 5-clinching win against Almaden. Daniel Arevalo was stepping up to the plate with a runner on with none out in the second with National up 6-0. I confided to a couple of Hollister Little League railbirds that Arevalo was going to go yard. I repeated in kind, motioning with my right arm to other side of the center field fence, finally getting a response of the likes of Jerry Scott, Rich Haggett and the elder Ronnie Fhurong.
I felt something inside. I had never witnessed an Arevalo home run before, but I had heard he had hit two monster shots in National’s 4-3 victory over Almaden at Field 2 last Saturday, good for three of National’s four runs. One of them went over the shed in left-center, the other, high into the tree in straightaway center.
These are the stories of Little League legends.
Arevalo didn’t disappoint me. He hit a 1-1 pitch which skied perfectly over the center field fence. It was his third homer in four games. HIs fourth in the postseason and his seventh of the year. I exchanged a high-five with Fhurong and modestly bragged to anyone within earshot that I called it (thank you, Daniel).
Folks, this boy is only 10 years-old, but he and his gang of National future Big Leaguers have won the District 9 Tournament, Section 5 Tournament and are about to attempt greatness in the upcoming Division 2 Tournament. Should National win, it would be the first Division champ from Hollister in the 9-10’s age bracket. The first game for National is Saturday at 11 a.m. at Tri-Cities LL Field in Cupertino.
Arevalo, the club’s top pitcher, is also the club’s top shortstop. That puts manager Jerry Sepulveda in a nice quandry.
“I don’t know if I’m going to start Daniel pitching Saturday,” said Sepulveda, who gets to scout his opponent tonight. “It depends on who we play. We’re stronger defensively with Daniel at shortstop.”
Sepulveda has been coaching Little League in Hollister for the past six or seven years. He puts Arevalo right near the top.
“He’s about as good as we’ve had go through here,” said Sepulveda without hesitation. “He can hit, throw, run and field. He’s fundamentally sound. He’s as good as anybody for that age I’ve seen.”
I get a kick out of watching Arevalo field grounders from first baseman Cooper Sepulveda between innings and before the game. One would think it was the seventh game of the World Series the way Arevalo attacks the ball, fields it and fires to first.
“Daniel never slacks off,” said Jerry. “He attacks everything. He can’t stand still. He’s always moving.”
In Wednesday night’s game, Hollister National scored three runs in the top of the sixth to put the game away. Arevalo singled in one of those runs with one of the hardest hit balls I’ve ever seen by a boy that age. It was hit so hard, the ball got by the left fielder for an error.
Arevalo was taught how to hit at a young age by his mother, Lety Arevalo. Lety is one of the best women softball players in the Hollister Recreation slowpitch leagues, be it Co-Ed or Women’s. Lety, who didn’t play at Hollister High, but played a year of softball at Gavilan College, said it’s Daniel’s great attitude which has made him the promising player he is now.
“I taught him to hit and catch,” said Lety. “He loves playing baseball. Our family always plays baseball, like when we have a family reunion. Daniel always stays positive. He’s always picking up his teammates and never gets down, even after a loss.”
Arevalo, a student at Calaveras Elementary School, excels at soccer and basketball, as well. If there’s a pro sport to play, though, it’s baseball.
“I want to pitch in the Major Leagues,” said Daniel. “My favorite team is the Los Angeles Dodgers and my favorite players are Gary Sheffield and Shawn Green.”
Sheffield plays for the Atlanta Braves now as Daniel can quickly tell you. Sheffield, Green and Arevalo have one thing in common. All three have quick bats and are all line drive hitters.
“I don’t try to hit home runs,” said Daniel. “I just try to hit it hard.”
As a pitcher, Daniel claims to have a fastball, changeup, and curveball. He admits to throwing a knuckleball, too, but “it isn’t working right now.”
Arevalo’s closest buddy on the team is Oscar Ramirez, or “Little O”. Oscar Ramirez Sr. is the brother of Lety Arevalo’s mother, hence the kin relationship.
Needless to say, between the Ramirez family and the Arevalo family, Hollister National has a pretty fair fan base right off the top. Lety estimates that the total might reach 50 at every All-Star game. Lety’s brother has come all the way down from Chico to see Daniel play, along with attending a family reunion, and will be sticking around for this weekend’s games.
Daniel feels that Hollister National can win this tournament.
“We have to try our hardest,” said Arevalo.
That’s something this natural does all the time.
