Last-inning rally falls short in Pinto section championship
MORGAN HILL — Against the vaunted pitching staff of San Jose Pacific, the Morgan Hill Pinto Green All-Stars swung at every ball they could touch Tuesday in their host section championship.
“That’s the only way you can beat them: just go up there and keep hacking,” Morgan Hill manager Randy Romriell said afterward.
The strategy was ideal, but ineffective. The Green All-Stars were held hitless until the sixth inning when, with two outs and a man at first, Cole McGowen snaked a slow grounder into right field.
A strikeout later, their season was over.
Behind its ace hurlers, Austin Ponce and Jake Arburn, undefeated San Jose Pacific sacked the Morgan Hill Section pennant with a 1-0 victory at Britton Middle School.
The regional-bound visitors finished 4-0 in the five-team double-elimination tournament, with two wins against Morgan Hill’s top-tier Green squad.
“We had a feeling we’d be playing these guys again if we reached the finals,” San Jose Pacific manager Jeff Bower said. “They’re a very talented team. I knew it was going to be close today. The pitching was excellent. It was just going to come down to who made fewer mistakes.”
Fittingly enough, San Jose Pacific scored the game’s only run on an overthrow in the fifth inning. The Green All-Stars misplayed a groundball hit by Nick Hartung, allowing Anthony Paoli to advance to third and then home on the throw to second.
“It’s tough to lose that way,” said Romriell, whose team finished 3-2. “But our guys played very well today. That’s a great team they lost to. They have unbelievable pitching.”
Morgan Hill’s was just as impressive. Green starter Garret Spriggs struck out seven in three innings, and Ben Buckman fanned four in the final two. They allowed one hit apiece.
Buckman came up with clutch back-to-back strikeouts in the fourth with runners in scoring position. He induced a flyout to end the threat, drawing a healthy cheer from the home crowd.
“We couldn’t let up against them,” Bower said. “We knew they weren’t going to go away.”
The Green bats made solid contact early on, but to no avail. Damon Rodriguez had two sharp grounders gloved by Arburn, then at first base, and McGowen and Giovanni Saso belted line drives into the outfield that resulted in force outs at second.
“We tried not to get frustrated,” Romriell said.
After Arburn got two quick outs to begin the sixth, Anthony DiVitorrio drew his second walk of the game, igniting a potential rally. McGowen’s single broke up a no-hitter during the next at-bat, and the Morgan Hill players came to their feet as cleanup hitter Donald Ukanwa strolled to the plate.
Arburn got him looking with a 2-2 fastball.
“It’s always disappointing to lose, but our guys have a lot to be proud of,” Romriell said. “They’re 8-year-olds, so the game’s all about fundamentals. They’ve taken some big steps this year. Hopefully, they’ll continue to get better at the next level.”
The Green All-Stars were trying to force a decisive second finals game scheduled for Wednesday. They were presented with runner-up medals afterward.
NOTE: The Pony All-Star season continues next week with Mustang Division play. Britton Middle School will host two section tournaments comprised of 13 teams, including four from Morgan Hill — Green, Gold, Grey and Black.
