Hollister wins Nor Cal championship; Heat headed to Nationals
again
With the summer set to kick off, the Heat is rising. Once again.
For the third straight year, a Hollister Heat team has qualified for the USA/ASA National Championships. The 14U Heat team rampaged through the Nor Cal J.O. Championships over the weekend, posting a perfect 4-0 record to emerge with the title for the second consecutive year.
“Very gratifying,” Heat manager Darrell Clayton said after his team defeated the Salinas Storm, 4-2, for the title on Sunday. “I don’t know how often you win Nor Cals two years in a row, undefeated. It was a great accomplishment for the Heat organization.”
The 14U team includes some young stars from the Central Coast Section champion San Benito High team as well as talent stretching from Salinas to Morgan Hill. Seven of the team’s 14 players will be playing in Nationals for the third year in a row.
The Heat ran through this three-day tournament at Twin Creeks Sports Complex on the strength of its smothering pitching and solid offensive approach. They didn’t allow a run until the championship game and blasted their opponents by a combined score of 23-2.
“I just thought we stayed consistent. Put the ball in play and make the other team makes plays … instead of making it easy for them,” assistant coach Leo Ibarra said. “I think it paid off for us.”
After dominant wins over the Nor Cal Cruisers and Mize Diamonds, the Heat took the field on Sunday facing the San Jose Sting with a spot in the championship game on the line. Alejandra Hernandez knocked a leadoff double in the bottom of the third and J.C. Clayton promptly drove in pinch runner Ally Barsanti with a single. After Clayton stole second, Ally Kersthold followed with an RBI single to right, pushing the score to 2-0.
Behind a stellar, complete-game performance by pitcher Sarah Solis, the Heat went on to a 3-0 victory, gaining a spot in the title game that night against the Storm.
The Heat offense came out firing, scoring twice in the first inning. Clayton and Kersthold opened the game with singles, immediately putting the pressure on the Storm’s defense. Clayton stole third and scored when the catcher’s throw sailed past third base. Mary Luna added to the Heat’s early lead with a two-out single that knocked in Kersthold.
The Heat climbed up 3-0 in the top of the sixth when a two-base Storm error put pitcher Marisa Ibarra in scoring position and Hernandez followed with a two-out RBI single.
The Storm answered with a two-run rally in the bottom of the inning, the first on a suicide squeeze, but Ibarra would allow no more runs. The Heat added an insurance run in the seventh, completing a tournament in which the team was firing on all cylinders.
The Heat defeated the Cruisers, 10-0, on Friday night and posted a 6-0 win over the Diamonds on Saturday.
Clayton, the Heat’s manager, said he liked his team’s chances heading into the Nor Cals.
“This year, with the team we had, I felt we should’ve won it,” Clayton said. “They wanted it. They proved they were the best team out there. Defensively, we were solid and, you know, we hit the ball.”
The core of this Heat team advanced to Nationals as a 12U unit in 2004 and then returned by winning the 2005 14U Nor Cals. J.C. Clayton, Bre Fata, Chelsea Freitas, Marisa Ibarra, Kourtney Kientzy, Luna and Solis will all play in Nationals for the third straight year.
“It’s chemistry. We have a great group of girls,” Ibarra, the assistant coach said, noting the talent up and down his team’s roster.
With Nationals set to begin on July 31 in Johnson City, Tennessee, the Heat will play in 16U and 18U tournaments over the next month as a part of their preparation.
