In a commemorating twist, Morgan Hill’s best and third-best
Mustang All-Star teams will decide their host section championship
starting tonight
MORGAN HILL — In a commemorating twist, Morgan Hill’s best and third-best Mustang All-Star teams will decide their host section championship starting tonight.
The Green and Gray All-Stars will meet in the first of possibly two final-round matchups at Britton Middle School at 5:30 p.m. The series winner will clinch at automatic berth to regionals.
“It’s awesome to have it come down to this,” Green manager Rick Martinez said. “The kids are excited to have an all-Morgan Hill championship. It’s exciting for all of us.”
Along with hailing from the same city, the two finalists come from opposite ends of the spectrum. The undefeated Green All-Stars, Morgan Hill’s top-tier Mustang club, has steamrolled its way to the championship, winning each of its three games by lopsided margins. They opened the six-team double-elimination tournament with a 13-1 victory over Los Altos/Mountain View before beating Blossom Valley’s ‘B’ team 19-5 Friday.
Their 14-1 triumph over Gray on Saturday clinched a finals berth. D.J. Washington, Kekoa Bantilan, Ricky Martinez and Ryan Belluomini had two hits apiece for Green. Belluomini and Kyle Riveron pitched two innings.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Martinez said. “They stayed focused on their goal of winning a championship.
“They’ve played very consistent baseball. They’re doing all the right things.”
Simply put, the Gray All-Stars are playing with house money. The tournament’s lone ‘C’-level team strung together one thrilling upset after another to reach tonight’s showdown. The Gray All-Stars have to beat Green twice to take the pennant.
A second finals game, if necessary, is scheduled for Tuesday evening.
“It’s been a great ride. I’m really proud of these guys,” Gray manager P.J. Rochon said. “This whole tournament has been a tall order for us, being a ‘C’ team. To me, my guys are already champions just for making it here.”
Rochon’s young batch of underdogs twice overcame six-run deficits to win their opening two games. After beating Fremont ‘B’ 18-16 in the first round, they scored four runs in the second inning and 10 in the third to beat Lakewood by mercy rule, 16-6, in four innings. P.J. Rochon Jr. and Isaiah Ahumaea sparked the rally with doubles, Angel Sanchez smacked an inside-the-park home run and Christopher Knopf pitched a complete game to get the decision.
“Our guys played a perfect game. They scored runs and had no errors,” their manager said. “The guys were down after we fell behind 6-0, but they refused to lose. I told them to stay in it and play to the last out. It’s not over until then.”
Facing elimination after Saturday’s loss, the Gray All-Stars rallied to a 13-12 triumph over Los Altos/Mountain View in which they overcame two four-run deficits. Down to their last out, they scored three runs on bases-loaded walks and past balls to tie it before Joey Gustaveson scored from first base on Derek Pedersen’s single to win it.
“They’ve been playing phenomenally,” Martinez said. “The fact that they’re a ‘C’ team says a lot about Morgan Hill Pony Baseball. They deserve to be playing for it all tonight.”
NOTE: In the city’s other Mustang Section Tournament, Morgan Hill’s Gold All-Stars were eliminated Saturday.
