Alpine’s Tayo An slides home safely in the seventh in a 13-6 extra-inning win over Hillsborough in the District 52 Little League All-Stars 10s tournament at Trinta Park.
It was the closest 13-6 game you’re ever going to see.
Alpine was sitting pretty in the quarterfinals in its District 52 Little League All-Stars 10s winner’s bracket quarterfinal Wednesday evening at Trinta Park. Scoring in each the second, third and fourth innings, Alpine took a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth. Then, like a bolt from the blue, Hillsborough answered back and quickly swung ahead 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth.
Alpine persevered, though, firing back with Keegan Wolf scoring on Charlie Katz’s RBI groundout in the top of the sixth to tie it. Then in extra-innings, Alpine went large with seven runs in the top of the seventh to knock off Hillsborough 13-6.
“I think we all know how to keep the energy up and stay locked in,” Wolf said.
The two teams had been there before. In last year’s District 52 Minors Superbowl tournament, Alpine jumped ahead 5-0 in the fifth before Hillsborough rallied back over the next two frames. The game went into extras before Alpine blew it open with nine runs in the top of the ninth, and went on to win it 14-7.
As Alpine’s defense ran off the field Wednesday after Hillsborough’s go-ahead four-run rally in the fifth, there was an eerily familiar feeling in the dugout.
“It was like deja vu in that dugout,” Alpine manager Tim Katz said.
Heading into the seventh, Tim Katz preached patience to his offense. It paid off big time, as the first three batters of the inning walked to set up the seven-run rally.
Hillsborough third baseman Charlie Willard leaps over the runner as Alpine’s Tayo An dives back in safely.
Terry Bernal/Daily Journal
“I think our kids, they’re patient hitters and they’re good hitters,” Tim Katz said. “So, we said to them: ‘Go up there and do your thing, but make sure they’re strikes.’”
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Cole Shortal earned the go-ahead free pass with the bases loaded, bringing Wilson Shank home. Then a single by Easton Morrison on a 3-2 pitch made it 8-6 as Tayo An slid across the plate with a big celebration yawp as he hopped to his feel. Patrick Low Ah Kee and Wolf followed by contributing productive RBIs outs, and Dante Delfino added an RBI single.
Hillsborough used four pitchers in the game, including two of its best — Spencer Simon and Charlie Willard — as the first two arms out of the bullpen. Starting pitcher Andre Newdelman worked three innings. Reliever Cole Glaser entered amid the seventh-inning rally and worked one inning.
“They did a great job holding them in check, and then the wheels fell off in the seventh,” Hillsborough manager Tony Tognetti said. “But that will happen in baseball.”
Hillsborough was right there thanks to the roaring comeback. Sending nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the fifth, Hillsborough closed it to a one-run deficit when Newdelman scored on a wild pitch. Simon followed with an RBI single to center to plate Glaser with the go-ahead run.
“We all jumped up,” Simon said. “We were all really excited.”
Alpine used the bottom of its order to set the table in the seventh. With a 12-batter lineup, Alpine totaled 10 hits in the game, with 10 different players getting in the hit column.
Alpine now advances to the tournament semifinals through the winners’ bracket, and will face San Mateo American, Saturday, at 10 a.m.
Hillsborough falls to the elimination bracket, and must now win five straight games if it wants to claim the District 52 championship banner. Hillsborough will play again Friday at 5 p.m. against the winner of Thursday’s elimination game between San Mateo National and Palo Alto.
“That’s a big, big disadvantage,” Tony Tognetti said. “It will challenge every part of your team, especially your pitchers.”
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