Mustang All-Stars a win from Regionals
MORGAN HILL — Looking back, the Morgan Hill Mustang All-Stars were fortunate to have an extra week to practice before the start of Sectionals. They have had little time to gel during games.
The local 10-year-olds swept through the first three contests at their host section tournament in record time, beating Ceres, Lakewood and Los Altos/Mountain View by 10-run rule to move within a victory of clinching the title. They have outscored opponents 50-5.
“It’s a good group of kids,” Morgan Hill manager Dave Knopf said. “We kept them together at practice and went through a lot of repetition. And they just grew together. That’s allowed them to do this.”
Morgan Hill will meet Los Altos/Mountain View or Fremont in the championship round to decide the section’s regional berth. Game 1 is at 5:30 p.m. today at Britton Middle School with a possible second game slated for 10 a.m. Saturday.
So far, Los Altos/Mountain View is the only team that has shown life against Morgan Hill. The local team won their first meeting 15-3 Tuesday but had an 11-0 lead trimmed to eight in the fourth inning.
“That was a big test for us,” Knopf said. “Los Altos/Mountain View hit the ball and made us work more than the other teams. It was good for us because it tested our defense.”
Morgan Hill’s Christopher Knopf and Chris Turner have provided great pitching and hitting in the six-team double-elimination tournament, driving in 13 runs combined. Ethan Crawford has been the team’s go-to guy with 14 RBIs, a club best.
Nathan Alejo and Jared Jones, Morgan Hill’s Nos. 1-2 batters, have set the table nicely with timely hitting. They have scored seven and six runs, respectively.
Great results have also come from the middle and bottom of the order. Graham Grisedale, Mason Honda, Tyler Souza, Alex Petroskey, Cody Paresa, Max Duran and Ryan Denure have scattered hits well.
“These boys come to play,” Morgan Hill coach Mac Jones said. “Our goal is to get to the regional tournament, and we feel we have a strong shot.”
