Hillsborough Little League hosts Section 3 All-Star 10s tournament; downs Castro Valley in Saturday’s opener

Well, as the old adage goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Hillsborough made it six wins in a row Saturday, opening play in the Section 3 tournament with a 14-3 win over Castro Valley.

“We’re now 6-0, so I can’t tell them to do anything with their uniforms,” Hillsborough manager John Gherini said. “If he thinks he needs a dirty uniform to play like he did today, then I’m OK with it.”

Hillsborough is playing host to the four-team tournament at its home complex at 300 El Cerrito Ave. in Hillsborough. Castro Valley (District 45), San Ramon Valley (District 57) and Newark (District 14) round out the bracket. Play is guaranteed to run through Tuesday, with all weekday games scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The championship begins Tuesday, with a tentative if-necessary game slated for Wednesday.

Hillsborough is set to face San Ramon Valley in a winners’ bracket semifinal Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Castro Valley falls to the elimination bracket to face Newark, Sunday, at 10 a.m.

“It’s an unbelievable honor and a privilege to be able to host it here,” John Gherini said, “to be able to represent the Hillsborough and the broader communities. We really put a lot of work into the field and the complex so that everybody would really enjoy the baseball experience here.”

After totaling 43 runs through five wins in the District 52 tournament, red-hot Hillsborough continued to swing it Saturday. After falling behind 1-0 in the first, Drew Kettman’s RBI single fueled a four-run Hillsborough second. Castro Valley answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to close the score to 4-3 before Hillsborough broke it open in the later innings, scoring one in the fourth, three in the fifth and six more in the sixth.

While Kettman spent the regular season batting leadoff of the Hillsborough Royals, he was batting in the No. 10 spot in the continuous batting order Saturday and cashed in on two opportunities with runners on base. Kettman was 3 for 3 with two RBIs on the day.

“I like [hitting with runners on base] because I feel more confident and I want to score them,” Kettman said.

Kettman also shined on the mound, working 2 1/3 innings of perfect relief, combining with right-hander Momo Lubarsky for 3 2/3 scoreless innings.

Starting pitcher Mico DeMartini worked 2 1/3 innings. The right-hander was charged with three runs, all unearned, as Hillsborough’s defense committed three critical errors, leading to all three of Castro Valley’s runs.

“Our hitting has really been impressive the entire time,” John Gherini said. “I thought we came out a little flat today. I gave the team a week off after the district tournament. So, I think it took them a little bit to get their heads right today. You didn’t really see that in their at-bats, but you did see it on the defensive side.”

Bringing in Kettman to pitch proved a game-changer. Not only was the groundball intensive right-hander the perfect arm to summon to protect a one-run lead with two runners on and one out in the third, but the change also moved DeMartini from pitcher to shortstop. Two pitches later, Kettman induced a grounder to short off the bat of Castro Valley’s No. 3 hitter, and DeMartini rolled up a 6-3 inning-ending double play.

“I knew my defense had my back,” Kettman said. “So, I felt pretty confident. … [DeMartini] is probably one of our best shortstops. He’s really good.”

Castro Valley jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first. Bryce Gilmore lined a one-out single to right and hit the ball so hard it gave Hillsborough’s right fielder a chance to throw him out at first. The throw sailed over the first baseman’s head, however, allowing Gilmore to advance to second. He moved to third on a wild pitch before a two-out grounder to the left side of the infield off the bat of Aaron Talauta saw a high throw pull the first baseman off the bag for an error, with Gilmore scoring on the play.

Hillsborough responded with a small-ball barrage in the second. Nolan Tognetti reached on an infield single, Lubarsky walked, and Brady Lien beat out a bunt single to load the bases. Then Kettman got his team on the board with an RBI single to right-center to tie it 1-1.

Lubarsky later scored on a wild pitch to give Hillsborough the lead, and Bryant Lien drove in a run on an infield grounder to make it 3-1. The play initially seemed to end the inning as Bryant Lien was called out at first, and Kettman, attempting to score from second, was thrown out at home for an apparent double play. But the umpires overturned the out call of Brady Lien at first base, ruling the first baseman came off the bag while taking the initial throw, to extend the inning. Hillsborough made it count as, after a walk to Mikey Sakal, Bryant Lien swiped home on a wheel steal, with Sakal provoking a rundown between first and second.

The inning could have been much worse for Castro Valley, though. With two on and two out, Jack Veach smacked a sinking liner to center that looked ticketed for the outfield grass, but Castro Valley center fielder Emilio Centeno raced in to make a stylish basket catch with a do-or-die knee slide.

Centeno rode the defensive gem into the bottom of the second as he led off with a sharp single to center. Jaden Gutierrez drew a walk before DeMartini bounced back to notch back-to-back strikeouts. But with two down, Max Hodsdon hit a grounder that was mishandled by the left side of the Hillsborough infield, allowing two runs to score to cut the lead to 4-3.

DeMartini ended the threat by striking out the side — the right-hander fanned five on the day — but Castro Valley set the table again in the third. Gio Perry reached on a leadoff infield single, and Gilmore drew a one-out walk. That’s when Hillsborough went to the bullpen, calling upon Kettman — aka “The Weapon” — to protect the lead.

“We deploy him in all pressure situations,” John Gherini said. “He throws a lot of strikes and he’s got great off-speed — keeps teams off balance, and he did it again today. Really gave us a chance to get back into this game.”

Kettman accounted for seven outs without letting the ball out of the infield. He induced four grounders and two popups.

Hillsborough’s offense responded with a run in the fourth on an RBI groundout from Brady Lien. Jack Veach highlighted a three-run fifth with a two-run single. Then in the sixth, all 12 Hillsborough players batted, highlighted by a bolt two-run double down the left-field line by No. 12 hitter Bryant Lien, who finished with three RBIs on the day.

“Watch out for the Lien twins,” John Gherini said, “because they’re really good contact hitters and they can get into it. And Bryant really showed us how to do it there.”