Ken Bradley knew his Morgan Hill Pony 13s all-star team would be
in for a tough battle when it took on Santa Clara in the first
round of the Pony 13s Sectional All-Star Tournament on Saturday.
But he also knew he had an ace in the hole
– his son Chris, a left-handed fireballing reliever who could be
counted on in a tight spot. Sure enough, Bradley called on his son
in the top of the fifth inning after Santa Clara put the potential
tying and go-ahead runs on base with just one out. And, Chris
Bradley came through, striking out co
nsecutive batters to end the inning and finishing off the final
two innings to earn the save in a crucial 2-1 victory over Santa
Clara at Los Gatos’ Fisher Middle School.
Ken Bradley knew his Morgan Hill Pony 13s all-star team would be in for a tough battle when it took on Santa Clara in the first round of the Pony 13s Sectional All-Star Tournament on Saturday.
But he also knew he had an ace in the hole – his son Chris, a left-handed fireballing reliever who could be counted on in a tight spot.
Sure enough, Bradley called on his son in the top of the fifth inning after Santa Clara put the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base with just one out.
And, Chris Bradley came through, striking out consecutive batters to end the inning and finishing off the final two innings to earn the save in a crucial 2-1 victory over Santa Clara at Los Gatos’ Fisher Middle School.
Ken Bradley had praise for his team’s fundamentally solid play against a tough foe.
“To open up against a tough pitcher, our offense didn’t hit all that well but our defense did play very well and our pitching also did well,” he said. “The thing that sets us apart is that play all facets of the game. If our offense isn’t doing very well, we can win with pitching and defense. It’s rare when we aren’t doing at least one thing well.”
MH added wins over Los Gatos (8-3) on Saturday) and San Jose Pacific (10-6) on Monday to advance to the tourney finals on Wednesday at 5:30pm at Fisher.
MH plays the winner of the loser’s bracket finale, and would have to be beaten twice to miss capturing the section title.
The trio of victories also guaranteed the local all-star squad a berth in the Regional Tournament starting on Saturday in Campbell. (The two sectional finalists advance to regionals.)
In last Saturday’s opener, the MH Pony 13s took exactly two batters to score a run. Bryan Bradley led off the game with a double to right, then moved to third on a passed ball before scoring on Michael Singleton’s RBI single for a 1-0 lead.
After Singleton stole second and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, MH would add another run on Ryan Williams’ RBI ground out.
It would turn out to be the only runs the local squad could muster against SC pitcher Colton Goularte.
Meanwhile, MH starter Kenny Hall was keeping SC off balance until the top of the fourth when an error on a dropped third strike and a single nicked him for a run.
On Sunday, Singleton picked up the win on the mound d for MH, and Nick Ramirez helped the cause with a home run. On Monday, Ramirez started on the mound and benefited from MH’s continued offensive onslaught. The team has now scored 18 runs in its last two games.
