San Mateo American 11s fire no-hitter in D52 tourney

Saturday at Trinta Park, American exorcised its demons in elimination play with a 7-2 victory over Pacifica, backed by a complete-game victory by right-hander Zach Marinec. This win came on the heels of Friday’s 4-0 win over Foster City, in which Marinec caught all six innings of a combined no-hitter by pitchers Colton Baker, Owen Bittle and Brayden Sole.

“We’ve been pitching great,” said American manager Jon Wells, who noted American has given up 11 runs through five games in the tournament. “So, pitching has been outstanding the entire time, and it’s sort of been the rallying call of our team.”

Two years ago, Marinec and Bittle were both on roster for the San Mateo American 10U team as 9-year-olds, when the squad known as the “No-No Kids” won the Northern California championship. Baker was also an alternate on that team, one that was renowned for throwing four no-hitters during the summer of 2022.

“They were very much influenced by being part of that team,” Jon Wells said. “And when they came down to play for me (in 2023) due to their age, they kind of became the center force of what my team is today.”

Baker took the start in Friday’s no-no, firing four innings while facing just three over the minimum. He retired the first six batters he faced until American opened the third inning with an infield error. He issued one walk and struck out three, while two batters reached on errors against him.

Bittle entered in the fifth to throw 1 2/3 hitless innings, allowing two walks and striking out one. Brayden Sole entered with one on and two out in the sixth, and walked one before ending it on a groundout to Carter Wells at third.

Second baseman Mazin Khoury was the workhorse of American’s defense. He totaled four defensive assists and three putouts, and preserved the no-hitter to start the second inning. American had jumped ahead with four runs in the bottom of the first, but Foster City looked to get its leadoff hitter on in the second when Connor Chapeton blooped a soft liner up the middle. Khoury ranged toward the bag and took a hit away with a dive to scoop it up just before it found the infield dirt.

“It was a ball, if he didn’t dive and grab it, it would have been a big turning point,” Jon Wells said.

The American offense did all its damage in the first. Alex Bayer sparked the rally with a one-out infield single. Then after a walk to Baker, Bittle tripled home both runners with a shot to right field. Marinec followed with an RBI single to left. Sole switched places with Marinec at first on a fielder’s choice, then came all the way around to score on a series of three wild pitches to make it 4-0

American totaled just four hits in the game against Foster City starting pitcher Oliver Xia, who recorded the complete game.

Foster City posted a 2-2 record in the tournament. Their roster includes Chapeton, Xia, Colin Atkinson, Reyaan Bhatia, Simon Brinegar, Killian Fahey, Ryunosuke Fujimoto, Veer Sanjay Gehani, Skylar Ide, Ben Lee, Preston Spachis and Kansuka Yoshimura.

San Mateo American 7, Pacifica 2

American returned Saturday to Trinta Park to knock off Pacifica in an elimination game. Marinec went the distance, throwing 55 of his 75 pitches for strikes, while allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and nothing wild while striking out five.

“He had his ‘A’ game going,” Jon Wells said. “He throws hard, so his fastball can dominate kids.”

The American bats came to life early once again, scoring twice in the first, once in the second, and breaking it open with a four-run third. Pacifica jumped ahead 1-0 in the top of the first when Carson Bancroft, the second batter of the game, socked a solo home run to center. It was the only earned run Marinec surrendered on the day.

American tied it in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from Bittle. Baker then scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1. In the second, Carter Wells lifted a sacrifice fly to drive home Sole. Then in the third, Khoury singled home Ben Girard, Marinec singled home Khoury, and Sole came through with a two-out, two-run single to score Bayer and Bittle.

American advances through the elimination bracket to take on Hillsborough, Sunday, at 10:30 a.m.

Pacifica posted a 2-2 record in the tournament. Their roster includes Bancroft, Josh Aleman, Mateo Almaguer, Royce Barrozo, Brady Christensen, Jackson Coller, Oscar Ibarra, Brandon Jasso, Justin Kern, Jacob Maxwell, Dylan Murphy and Santino Salinas.