Pinto B club will play for section title, World Series berth
today in San Jose
SANTA CLARA — The Morgan Hill club that reached the 2009 Bronco World Series began its quest for a second straight trip in a new division last weekend, and the results were typical.
Nicknamed the Thrill, the 13U Pony A All-Stars won their first two games in the seven-team Santa Clara County Sectional Tournament with relative ease, beating San Jose PAL 13-1 Saturday and archrival Blossom Valley 7-5 Sunday.
The local 12 will return to Lou Vierra Field on Thursday to play in the winners’-bracket final. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday with the top two teams advancing to a regional in Campbell.
“I think they’re just as hungry as last year,” said Mike Zanotto, who coaches the Thrill alongside Dave Affourtit and manager Daryll Hughes. “They’re kids; they want to win whatever game they’re playing.”
Starting pitcher Alejandro Torres led the Morgan Hill team Saturday with five strikeouts in four innings, and Mike Porras batted 2 for 2 with a triple and two walks. Porras took the hill Sunday and struck out five in 4 1-3 innings. Teammate Travis Moulden had two hits, three RBIs and scored once during the weekend.
Mark Quinby fueled the Thrill in all areas Sunday, batting 2 for 2 with a home run, a sacrifice fly, two runs and three RBIs. He struck out three in 3 2-3 innings of relief and, before that, made a diving catch in right field to help stave off a BV rally. Blossom Valley widdled a 6-1 deficit to 6-4 in the top of the sixth inning, but Quinby pushed the game out of reach with a towering shot down the left-field line in the bottom half.
Ben Hughes made several clutch plays at shortstop to keep BV at bay.
Patrick Muller batted 1 for 2 with a pair of walks Saturday, Domenic Zanotto collected a hit, an RBI and scored Sunday, and Torres doubled and crossed home against Blossom Valley.
Catcher Sam Aptekar was out of town for Saturday’s game but caught an early flight home when he found out Morgan Hill was going to play BV. He batted 1 for 1 with two walks, scored once and made big stops behind the plate Sunday.
“It might have been a different game if he wasn’t there,” Mike Zanotto said.
Morgan Hill’s 13U Pony B All-Stars also survived last weekend despite dropping their opener, 13-0, to Santa Clara. Coach John Bennett’s club rebounded with a 6-1 victory over Los Gatos in an elimination game Sunday.
Karl Johnisee-Mann highlighted the win with a single, double and six solid innings pitched. Justin Dziuba worked the final inning, and center fielder Zach Riveron went 2 for 3 and scored three times.
“The kids play really well as a team,” Bennett said. “We don’t have all the power the other teams have, but we come up with timely hits and play good defense.”
The B All-Stars face a challenging road this week in the stacked double-elimination sectional. They will face Blossom Valley at 5:30 p.m. today at Vierra Field.
Morgan Hill has three teams in the hunt to make the Pinto World Series. One of which can seal the deal tonight. Coach Pete Milos’ B All-Stars are set to play Blossom Valley A in the championship game of the six-team BV Sectional at 5:30 p.m. at Colero Park in San Jose.
The B team has mounted an impressive comeback after dropping its opener to Blossom Valley B, though the rally came at the expense of Morgan Hill’s C All-Stars; the B club defeated them in an elimination game. Milos’ club then avenged its early loss with a victory over Blossom Valley B and beat San Jose Pacific A to reach today’s final.
Saturday, Morgan Hill’s Pinto A All-Stars and another C team will begin play in their host five-team sectional at Britton Middle School. Matt Elam is coaching the C club, and Vince LaGatta is heading the A team, which has the best chance to advance.
The section champions earn automatic invites to the Pinto World Series, which will be held July 15-18 at PAL Stadium in San Jose.
“If you play in the World Series, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime no matter where it’s held,” LaGatta said. “It’s a big opportunity for the parents this year because they don’t have to drive far.
“We have a really good chance to make it. We have a strong, deep team. We’re going to go out and play baseball and see what happens.”
