San Mateo American forces if-necessary showdown in District 52 11s tourney

American opened the championship round with an 8-4 win Monday evening over Alpine at Trinta Park. Alpine rallied for two runs in the top of the first, but American answered right back with four in the bottom of the inning, then added four more in the third.

“Even if we give up a run or two, we stick to what our game plan is, which is hit the ball, play defense and pitch,” San Mateo American manager Jon Wells said. “... They’re not phased by being down. They’ve had such a long run now, being behind to them is nothing because they know what they’re capable of doing.”

Starting pitcher Colton Baker walked back onto the mound with a 4-2 lead and didn’t relinquish it. During his regular season with the San Mateo American Royals, Baker worked primarily as a reliever. The right-hander proved a bulldog as a starter, though, throwing 88 pitches through 5 2/3 innings to earn the win.

Baker had a chance to finish the game after getting the second out of the sixth with his 84th pitch of the night. The maximum allowed in Little League is 85. But the following batter, Alpine cleanup man Nolan Levinson, flared a single down the right-field line to end Baker’s night.

“I felt good,” Baker said. “I wish I could have closed it out.”

Nolan Levinson’s RBI single capped a two-run rally for Alpine, and got the potential tying run to the plate. Simeon Ouellette-Massiou led off the inning with a double, and No. 12 batter Charlie Goldstein turned over the batting order with a sharp single to center. Patrick Breslin followed with an RBI single, and Derek Armstrong chopped a base knock through left side of the infield.

Baker figured his night was over at that point when he got a mound visit from Jon Wells.

“I thought he was going to take me out because we had a guy warming up,” Baker said.

The skipper stuck with his starter though, and Baker bounced back to notch his fourth strikeout of the night. But Alpine did not go down quietly, with Nolan Levinson spoiling Baker’s shot at a CG.

“That was definitely the message,” Alpine manager Dave Levinson said. “We’ve got some big guys in the heart of the order, and it just takes one big one. They put up a fight. We just weren’t able to get it, but their pitcher pitched great and they deserved to win.”

American summoned right-hander Carter Wells out of the bullpen, who closed it out with a comebacker to earn the save.

“I felt bad for [Baker] that he couldn’t get the last out,” Jon Wells said. “That’s what pitch counts can do.”

It would have been the second complete game in three days for American, after right-hander Zach Marinec went the distance Saturday in a 7-2 win over Pacifica. Wells caught Marinec’s gem in that one. Monday, Marinec worked all six innings behind the plate.

Alpine totaled nine hits on the night, paced by Breslin, who was a perfect 3 for 3 in the leadoff spot. Breslin opened the game with a sharp single through the right side of the infield. Armstrong followed with a hit, and Charles Saste singled home the game’s first run. Nolan Levinson followed with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 2-0, but American caught a break when the back runner got caught in a rundown between second and third for the second out of the inning.

Then American came out swinging in the bottom of the first with four hits in the inning, three of them in two-strike situations. Mazin Khoury laced a leadoff single to left, Alex Bayer got hit by a pitch, and Baker singled to load the bases. Cleanup hitter Owen Bittle lined an RBI single to left-center to get American on the board. Then Marinec gave his team the lead with line-shot double down the left-field line to knock home two.

Brayden Sole followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2. Alpine went to its bullpen from there with its starter reaching the 15-pitch mark, preserving him to pitch Tuesday if necessary.

Armstrong entered in relief and put forth quite an effort, maxing out his 85-pitch count through four innings of work.

“I knew I was going to go 85 pitches,” Armstrong said. “It didn’t really go my way, but it happens.”

Armstrong shut down the first-inning rally, but American broke through for four more in the third. Bayer led off with a walk and Baker singled to put runners at the corners. Then American successfully ran a wheel steal, with Baker racing home with the throw going through on Baker’s steal of second. Sole picked up an RBI with a line shot to left. Marinec scored on an infield error off the bat of Carter Wells. Then JT Pettigrew got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force home Sole.

American totaled nine hits, with two apiece from Baker and Marinec.

It would have been a perfect 3-for-3 night for Baker, but he got robbed of a single to end the fourth. Alpine right fielder Jack Chambers made a sensational play sprinting in on a high fly ball near the foul line, and gloved it with an all-out dive. It was Chambers’ second defensive gem of the tournament. He also made a diving catch with the bases loaded in the fifth inning amid a 2-2 tie in Alpine’s win over Foster City.

Baker benefitted from some slick defense as well. In the second, with a runner at first, Baker fielded a comebacker and got it to the shortstop Sole to cut down the lead runner, and Sole pivoted to fire the ball to first baseman Joaquin Lee to turn the double play.

Baker said his 5 2/3 innings marks the longest outing of his life, but that his arm was feeling fine afterward.

“It’s feeling pretty good,” Baker said. “I’m going to ice it a bunch at home.”

American and Alpine will meet again Tuesday night at Trinta Park in a winner-take-all championship game. First pitch at Trinta Park is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.