Morgan Hill set to play Wednesday night in PAL Stadium
SAN JOSE — With his heels on the rubber, Morgan Hill pitcher Mark Quinby, all 5 feet 9 inches of him, was still dwarfed by most of the Bel Passi batters he faced Saturday. One of Quinby’s shortest opponents blasted two home runs off him; the first one smacked the overpass beyond PAL Stadium.
But on a weekend where giant killers reigned supreme at the Bronco 12 Northern California Regional, Quinby and the Morgan Hill All-Stars stood tall. They bested Bel Passi 10-6 Saturday, routed San Bruno 20-3 Sunday and are two wins away from advancing to the World Series.
“It feels awesome,” said Quinby, who struck out seven during a crafty 4 1-3 innings against Bel Passi. “It’s awesome because this might be my last year in Pony and other sports, and I know that we can go all the way.”
So far, no All-Star team has been able to stop Morgan Hill. Its players have won 18 straight contests and 24 of their last 25, dating to preseason club tournaments.
“They have a humble confidence about them,” Morgan Hill manager Dave Affourtit said. “They have a team confidence, but they’re not cocky — that’s the best part. We’ve been beaten badly, too, before.”
Morgan Hill’s run through the double-elimination regional will continue at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against plucky West Diablo Valley, an undersized group that small-balled its way past Blossom Valley and Sierra Valley. Affourtit said West Diablo Valley is “fundamentally sound.”
“They’re one of the best coached teams I’ve seen,” Morgan Hill coach Mike Zanotto added. “People don’t realize how hard it is to get this far until they see the teams you play in these tournaments. No team is entitled to anything.
“Bel Passi scared me to death. No team has hit the ball like that against us.”
Few club have even tallied runs against Bel Passi, which reportedly held a 150-14 edge in scoring going into the eight-team regional.
Morgan Hill became the first club to lead Bel Passi this summer when Sam Aptekar blooped a two-run single with two outs in the top of the first. That came after Ben Hughes and Quinby drew walks off Bel Passi’s rapid righty Shawn Munoz.
For Quinby, there was no bigger confidence boost.
“I’ve pitched against big teams before,” he said. “I knew they were going to hit me. I just had to keep my head up after each one, or else you give up a bigger one.”
Quinby was dealing through the first three innings, striking out six and surrendering two hits. His changeup got him through an early jam after he beaned Brandon Grogan and gave up a double to Jacob Cooper-Steadman to start the game. From there, Quinby rung up Munoz and Ryan Bergstrom and got Tyler Janitz to ground out.
“Considering the opponent, this was probably the biggest Mark’s ever pitched,” Zanotto said. “He really stepped up.”
Quinby was just as clutch at the plate, batting 2 for 3 with three runs and a pair of walks. Pat Muller contributed three singles and two RBIs, and Hughes three walks, two runs and a single.
Quinby received more support in the fifth inning when Alejandro Torres doubled him home, and Mike Porras scored on a passed ball to make it 5-1.
Quinby’s only blemishes were three round-trippers. Cooper-Steadman connected for two of those: his freeway-bound solo shot in the third and a two-run blast that sparked back-to-back-to-back home runs in the fifth. Munoz chased off Quinby with a first-pitch shot to left-center field, and Bergstrom followed with a line-drive homer off Hughes that evened the score, 5-5.
“That was unnerving,” Zanotto said. “We knew these guys were dangerous. We just had to respond. The guys didn’t hang their heads.”
The Morgan Hill All-Stars were back up by four in no time. They batted through the lineup in the sixth, getting a lead-off double from Domenic Zanotto and run-scoring singles by Hughes and Muller. Porras and Quinby crossed on an Aptekar drive that was misplayed in center.
Hughes struck out five and yielded two runs on as many hits in the final two-plus innings to quiet Bel Passi.
“Sam really stood out,” Mike Zanotto said. “His hit in the first inning was big, and his hit in the fifth broke the game open.”
Domenic Zanotto scored his second run on a wild pitch in the seventh to make it 10-5. Bel Passi managed one more run on Janitz’s fielder’s choice in the bottom half.
Against San Bruno, which beat Tara Hills 8-6 Saturday, Quinby and Torres homered twice and Garrison Greisdale and Cole Campi had two hits apiece for Morgan Hill.
