All-Star Little League teams still alive
Stars still shine on the little town of Hollister as two of the
city’s youth baseball all-star teams remain in competition at the
state-level in their respective tournaments.
On the Little League side of the plate, Hollister sent two teams
to the Section 5 tournaments around the Bay Area this week
– the 9 and 10-year-old National All-Stars and the 10 and
11-year-old American All-Stars.
All-Star Little League teams still alive
Stars still shine on the little town of Hollister as two of the city’s youth baseball all-star teams remain in competition at the state-level in their respective tournaments.
On the Little League side of the plate, Hollister sent two teams to the Section 5 tournaments around the Bay Area this week – the 9 and 10-year-old National All-Stars and the 10 and 11-year-old American All-Stars.
The Americans were knocked out after just three games, but put up a good fight until an 8-run sixth inning gave Briarwood Little League the win 9-2.
The Hollister 9-10 Nationals remained undefeated in the 9-10 Section 5 Tournament, hosted here in Hollister, beating Saratoga 6-5. That victory came just a day after the team won a 13-inning affair over Santa Clara-Westside Little League 4-3. They moved onto the championship game against Saratoga, who earned a rematch with Hollister after working their way through the loser’s bracket. Saratoga defeated the Hollister National team by a score of 8-0 July 24. The final score meant Saratoga would play Hollister again Wednesday night after press time, win or go home. The winner would move on to the Nor Cal Division II Tournament.
In San Benito County’s Babe Ruth league, the 13-year-old all-star team fell into the loser’s bracket of their tournament early and ultimately dropped out of the tournament losing to Hanford, 10-0.
The 15-year-old Babe Ruth team lost a heartbreaker last weekend to Manteca 9-8 in the State Qualifier Championship.
The 14-year-old Babe Ruth team, coached by Jerry Sepulveda, remained undefeated until Tuesday night in the Central State Championships. The all-stars played against Santa Maria, with the winner moving on to the championship game. It was a close game until the end when Santa Maria scored eight unanswered runs in the top of the 7th inning to pull ahead and close out the game 15-6.
“We played pretty well,” Sepulveda said. “We were only down by one run in the seventh and they had two outs and two strikes on them. Then they scored eight more runs. It is just how baseball goes sometimes.”
This group of 14- year-olds will not let the loss get to them, Sepulveda said. These all-stars have been through a lot as a team together as most of them have been all-star teammates since they were 10 and playing Little League. As 10-year-olds, they won the state tournament. At 13 – their first year in Babe Ruth – the kids won the qualifying tournament and competed in the State Championships, just as they are competing this year.
San Benito is set to face Visalia in the loser’s bracket Wednesday after press time. If San Benito beat Visalia, they would face Santa Maria in a rematch. This time it would be for the State Championship. San Benito would have to beat Santa Maria twice to advance.
“If we play them again, I like our chances,” Sepulveda said. “Our pitching staff will be ready. Plus we learned a lot in playing them last night.”
