San Mateo American 11-12s bounce back after dropping Nor Cal opener

It’s the first loss American has suffered since the opening game of the District 52 tourney, after which they stormed through the elimination bracket with seven straight wins to claim the banner. Sunday, American set out on another quest through the elimination bracket, this time downing Visalia 11-0 in four-inning, mercy-rule fashion to advance through the seven-team Nor Cal tournament.

“That was definitely one of the talking points,” San Mateo American manager Steve Church said. “We had a long road going through the districts. … We went against one of the best teams in the tournament in the first game. Now we’ve got to put our work in and get back to that [championship]. Definitely some similarities to it.”

Right-hander RJ Church took the ball for American in the tourney opener and could never quite find his footing.

It wasn’t for lack of stuff. RJ Church came out pounding his fastball at the knees of Cambrian Park’s mighty lineup. But it took him four batters to adjust to a high strike zone. After falling behind in the count to the first four batters, Cambrian Park cleanup batter Ethan Chase had pounded a two-run double to left to put Cambrian Park up 2-0.

After striking out the last two batters in the first, RJ Church didn’t make it out of the second as Cambrian Park rallied for five runs. It was Ethan Chase who knocked him out of the game with a three-run homer to center.

“He did not have his best stuff [Saturday] and he admitted that as well,” Steve Church said. “He couldn’t find the zone with his off-speed stuff … and he became predictable with what pitches he was going to throw, which was fastball, and they can hit fastballs.”

Peyton Chase added a two-run homer in the fourth. Ethan Chase homered for the second time with a two-run blast in the sixth.

American didn’t go down quietly, spraying the ball all over the yard through the final three innings. But the boys from San Mateo had little to show for it as Cambrian Park put on a web-gem exhibition on defense.

Their center fielder made a remarkable diving catch in the fourth, sprinting in to nab a line drive off the bat of RJ Church. The following American batter, Kurtis Lee, scorched a one-hopper toward the middle, but second baseman Chase Johnston made a mean backhanded nab and threw him out at first.

Cambrian Park pitchers Damian Hernandez and Hathaway retired 10 straight batters at one point. American scrapped for its only run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Cooper Hipps.

Sunday, American preserved its pitching arms well against Visalia. Lee, the starting pitcher, had worked in relief Saturday then stayed under 35 pitches Sunday, meaning he is required to take just one day’s rest. Relievers Jack Hickey and Leo Rhein — who each struck out three — each stayed under 20 pitches and are available to pitch Monday.

American got on the board in the first inning with a three-run double by RJ Church. Lee followed with an RBI single.

“And we were just kind of running from there,” Steve Church said.

Julio Calderon added a solo home run to center in the third.

“They answered the call,” Steve Church said. “They got punched in the stomach and it was either go home or keep fighting.”

Next up, American takes on Turlock Monday night. First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m.

“It was business-like mentality,” Steve Church said of the team’s mood after the win. “The boys know we have a long road we have to climb. It’s like, yeah, we’re happy, but it’s almost like a this-is-why-we’re-here type mood.”