Behind its solid rotation, SHS is going back to CCS
MORGAN HILL — Less than a week after his Santa Teresa Division championship baseball team was ousted by North Monterey County in the first round of the CIF-Central Coast Section Playoffs, Sobrato coach Ulises “Shorty” Gutierrez was asked to comment on the Bulldogs’ sudden end to 2008.
Gutierrez spoke with smiles and a couple laughs. All he could think about was next season.
“I think we’re going to be even better,” Gutierrez said — and he was saying a lot.
Following its most decorated season in program history, Sobrato was set to graduate five seniors from a team that finished 23-8 overall and 18-3 in league. That, plus the Bulldogs were joining the hotly competitive Mount Hamilton Division, home to the toughest Blossom Valley Athletic League teams.
Gutierrez had no reason to bluff or fold. He was holding four aces.
Any manager at any level of the game will you tell one of the key ingredients to success is a strong pitching staff; one or two guys who can go the distance.
But four?
“It’s been a luxury,” Gutierrez said Friday. “Any guy we send out will give us a chance of winning.”
Meet the deepest rotation in the section. Before the season, it included Billy Birrell and Ryan Williams. Birrell went 8-0 as a junior in 2008, and Williams totaled three wins and a save as a spot starter/reliever. The team was also breaking in senior Shea Adams, who spent his off days at catcher.
“We knew right away our pitching was going to be the strength of the team,” Williams said. “We were stacked.”
That was just the beginning. Like Bill Gates winning the lottery, the Bulldogs added the Bradley brothers, juniors Chris and Bryan, to the mix in early March. Why not? The twins pitched a little during their freshman and sophomore years at Archbishop Mitty.
“We didn’t know what to expect from them,” said Gutierrez, whose coached the program since its inception five years ago. “We just knew they were going to go out and compete. That’s what kind of kids they are.”
Fast forward to Thursday, when Sobrato (17-13 overall, 12-9 league) wrapped up an outright second-place finish with a 5-4 win over Live Oak.
Ryan Williams (7-2), a changeup specialist, has an ERA of 3.02 and 43 strikeouts in 10 appearances.
Chris Bradley (4-5), who has excelled with his four-seam fastball, has the program’s first no-hitter under his belt and leads the team in complete games (4), strikeouts (81) and shutouts (2). The lefty’s ERA has dipped to 1.68.
Bryan Bradley, who “just tries to throw strikes,” is 1-0 through eight appearances.
Billy Birrell (1-2) has recovered from a bout with tendonitis, which, as luck would have it, turned out to be helpful. He’s become a hard-throwing closer.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, have surrendered the second fewest runs (108) among Mount Hamilton teams — but that’s an achievement the pitchers share with the rest of the team.
“We just go out there and put it over the plate,” said Bryan Bradley, who came close to throwing a no-hitter of his own March 13 against Monte Vista Christian. “Our pitchers have done a great job this year, but our defense has made some huge plays.”
So has Adams, who Gutierrez permanently moved to catcher to better utilize his athleticism. Adams still left his mark on the hill, compiling a 3-2 record with 32 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.10.
While the pitchers have kept runners off the bases, Adams has kept them from moving.
“He shuts down the running game and he knows how to manage the pitching,” Gutierrez said. “There’s no one better fit to do what he does. He calms our guys down in tight games and gives the confidence of being able to throw an 0-2 pitch in the dirt. He’ll stop it every time.”
Although different in their ways, the four hurlers have one similarity that’s been key to their success, and it’s not just their low-80s fastball.
“They’re competitive. They attack their hitters,” Gutierrez said. “There hasn’t been one dominant guy. I have four guys I can trust; five when we had Shea. The Bradleys have surprised and impressed me. Ryno is Ryno; he gets things done. Billy, you know he’s always going to be solid.
“They’re all competitive. They’re almost too competitive.”
That last sentence referred to the friendly rivalry within Gutierrez’s staff.
“We all grew up playing together, and, since then, we’ve always tried to outdo each other,” Williams said. “We have the will to win and not give up. We never want to come out of a game.”
Because of his ailing elbow, Birrell has missed out on wins in 2009, but he hasn’t sulked about it. The senior is batting .359 with 19 RBIs, eight doubles and two home runs.
“When I stopped pitching for a while, I just focused more on taking care of business at the plate; helping any way I could,” said Birrell, who got his first victory in Thursday’s win over Live Oak. “Being a closer now is a lot more fun. I have the whole game to get pumped up, then I only have to pitch for like two innings.”
With the regular season over, the biggest question becomes which ace will Gutierrez go with next? The Bulldogs return to postseason play at 4 p.m. Thursday — against North Monterey County, no less — and are favored to challenge for a section championship.
Sobrato was named the No. 2 seed in the Division II tournament Saturday.
“It’s completely up in the air right now,” Gutierrez said. “Right now, it’s going to be Chris or Ryan with Billy waiting to close. It depends on what kind of hitters we face.”
When posed with the decision, Williams and Chris Bradley picked each other.
“I would be OK with anyone, but I think Chris is our best guy,” Williams said.
“Ryan’s been big all year,” Chris Bradley said. “I’d go with him; this is a must-win.”
Gutierrez may end up starting each pitcher this postseason. To do so, the Bulldogs will have to live up to their seeding and reach the championship game.
Four aces — plus a fifth behind the plate — can win many hands.
“We’ve worked really hard with our mechanics and our consistency,” Chris Bradley said. “If we keep going the way we are, I think we can win this thing.”
