Local team wins second straight 14U Open Division title
SUNNYVALE
Morgan Hill’s talented travel ball team known as the Thrill won the Fall Challenge at Twin Creeks Sports Complex in Sunnyvale last week to claim a second straight title at the 14U Open Division, the highest level of competition.
The Thrill, which earlier this month won the Fall Brawl event in Manteca, placed first out of 20 teams from Northern California. The local team finished 4-1 with come-from-behind wins over the LBA Rangers of Lafayette and Stockton Bases Loaded Baseball Club to reach Sunday’s championship game against the San Leandro Rakers, whom the Thrill defeated in a Fall Brawl semifinal when the Rakers were ranked No. 3 in this half of the state.
Morgan Hill won the rematch behind superb pitching by Domenic Zanotto and Asa Jacobs and two-hit efforts by Alejandro Torres and Sam Aptekar, who drove in one run apiece. Zanotto struck out two and gave up an unearned run on two hits in 4 1-3 innings, and Jacobs struck out four in the final 2 2-3. Neither pitched allowed a walk.
Zanotto also singled and drew a walk, matching teammate Ben Hughes.
The Thrill played with grit and determination the entire weekend. After dropping their first game Saturday, the locals needed to beat the Castro Valley Headfirst Gamers that afternoon to reach the championship bracket; they did so, 2-1, in no-hit fashion but had to sweat through nine innings. Hughes worked two innings of the epic no-no — Aptekar struck out 11 in seven innings — and contributed two hits, joining Torres and Travis Moulden.
Sunday, Aptekar came through with a bases-loaded double as Morgan Hill overcame a three-run deficit in the final inning to beat the Rangers. Hughes earned the save in relief of Torres, who struck out six and gave up four runs and three hits through five innings. Jack Affourtit, Zanotto, Jacobs and Hughes had hits.
The Thrill rallied past Bases Loaded Baseball Club 9-5 in the following game, scoring four runs with two outs in the fifth to tie it, and winning on another bases-loaded double by Aptekar.
Affourtit, Torres and Patrick Muller collected hits in the fifth, and Hughes struck out two in the seventh for his second save of the day. Affourtit pitched two key innings as well.
