Pacifica District 52 14s stun Half Moon Bay with walk-off steal of home

“Pandemonium,” Pacifica manager Isaiah Hermosillo said of the postgame celebration. “They bursted onto the field. It was a celebration mob — tackling, falling.”

The win marks the first time in any of this year’s District 52 tournaments that Pacifica has defeated HMB. That includes earlier in the 14s tourney, when HMB claimed a 6-3 win over Pacifica in the winners’ bracket.

The game was scoreless into the bottom of the sixth, when Pacifica broke through against Watermulder. Demchak singled to lead off the inning and Angelo Vinje walked. Matthew Harp followed by bunting Watermulder’s first offering to move both runners up, and Angelo Galleguillos gave a command performance by laying down a squeeze bunt to score Demchak with the game’s first run. Uzziah Hermosillo then made it 2-0 with an infield single to score Vinje.

HMB responded by sending 11 batters to the plate in the top of the seventh against the Pacifica bullpen. Dorsch exited in the sixth after throwing 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out nine. Then the bullpen went buggy, walking Oliver Hophan and Watermulder back-to-back to start the inning. After a double steal, Camden Crowell shot an RBI single to right to make it 2-1. After a Josh Formolo single, Jaxson Angelini singled home Watermulder to tie it 2-all.

But HMB wasn’t done. Brody Barton singled home Crowell to swing HMB ahead. Formolo then scored on a passed ball, and Anders Brown delivered an RBI single to left to stake Watermulder to a 5-2 lead.

Watermulder retired the first batter he faced in the bottom of the seventh, but Pacifica countered with four straight singles from William Gatley, Dorsch, an RBI knock from Michael Demchak, and a two-run single from Sean Basanez to tie it 5-5. With Sam Demchak at the plate, Pacifica attempted to win it on a squeeze play, but Watermulder fielded Demchak’s bunt and shuffled it home to cut down Basanez.

“We thought the game was over,” Isaiah Hermosillo said. “We did a bunt, we did the squeeze play, and the runner was in there. ... The throw got to the catcher and it was high and he was in there, and they called him out.”

That’s when Sam Demchak turned to the running game. With Vinje at the plate, he swiped second and third. Vinje walked to bring Harp to the plate, and on Watermulder’s second straight strike to open the at-bat, Stealin’ Sammy took off for the plate on the catcher’s throw back to the pitcher. Demchak slid in headfirst with the Watermulder’s throw home getting past the catcher.

“It was offline and the catcher ... he saw him coming and tried to swipe and get him, and the throw was offline,” Isaiah Hermosillo said.

Watermulder recorded a complete game, working 6 2/3 innings to get saddled with the loss, surrendering six runs on 11 hits and two walks, while striking out three. He threw 96 pitches, 60 for strikes. Vinje earned the win in relief, getting all three outs in the seventh while getting charged with no runs on two hits and walk, and striking out one.