San Mateo American rallies to capture District 52 Minors Superbowl championship

SMA was just as impressive, posting wins over rival San Mateo National and Menlo-Atherton with a combined score of 22-7.

In Tuesday’s championship game, both teams found themselves trailing for the first time in the tournament, and it was San Mateo American that got off the deck first, rallying for a 14-11 win.

Pitching was not the name of the game as these teams showed throughout the tournament they can rake and it didn’t stop in the title game. BRS scored 11 runs on 11 hits, including a five-run second on three knocks.

SMA countered by scoring 14 runs on 13 hits, twice scoring five runs in an inning — the second and third, which enabled it to take control of the game.

Like two heavyweight boxers, the two teams spent the early part of the game throwing haymakers at each other. BRS got the first big punch, plating a run in the top of the first inning, when Jaxon Cagle singled home Oliver Sternke, who had reached base on an error.

SMA answered right back to tie the score in the bottom of the inning when Spencer Folau drove in Milo Werner, who had singled with one out.

But BRS returned fire with five runs in the second. Van Sloan, Ethan Shim and Andrew Vendola all walked leading off the inning, loading the bases with no outs.

Arjun Narang gave the lead back to BRS with a single to left, Taylor Dobie singled to center and Sternke drove in a run while reaching on an error. Declan Emberley followed with a sacrifice fly to plate the fourth run of the inning and Andre Zabrouskov rounded out the scoring with a single to center.

In the minors’ tournament, a team’s at-bat is over once five runs are scored in the inning, save the sixth, so SMA avoided any more damage.

San Mateo returned the favor in the bottom of the inning. Graham Wolger and Santino Ya Lopez each legged out infield hits, sandwiched around a strikeout. Frankie Amaroso walked to load the bases, followed by RBI walks from Joe Biancalana and Pono Rosenberg.

The big hit of the inning was a two-run single off the bat Colton Baker and when Werner followed with a RBI single to left, the teams were knotted at 6-all.

In the top of the third, San Mateo’s Werner pitched the only 1-2-3 inning of the game, retiring BRS in order to get San Mateo back to the plate.

Werner would end up getting the win for San Mateo.

SMA then took control of the game with a five-run third, giving it an 11-6 lead. Torello Pasion started the rally by drawing a walk and Folau was hit by a pitch. Kai Rosenberg followed and gave San Mateo the lead for good with a single to left to drive in Pasion.

Wolger, Joe Vanpool Jr. and Amoroso would all add RBI singles and a fifth run scored on wild pitch.

“The high scoring didn’t surprise me much. But going down 6-1, we battled,” said SMA head coach Joe Vanpool, who admitted he didn’t know if his team had it in it to battle through adversity.

“You always wonder how they’re going to bounce back.”

BRS, however, didn’t go down without a fight. It tacked on two runs in the top of the fourth, with Emberley singling home a run and Narang scoring on an error, cutting the SMA lead to 11-8.

But San Mateo answered back with a three-spot in the bottom of the frame, with all three runs being unearned as SMA pushed its lead to 14-8.

Back came BRS, scoring three runs in the fifth, with Cagle and Matthew Strothkamp each scoring on wild pitches and Sternke driving in his second run of the game to cut the San Mateo lead to 14-11.

In the top of the sixth, BRS brought the tying run to the plate after Zabrouskov reached on an error to lead off the inning and Sloan drew a two-out walk.

But Amoroso, who came to the mound to start the inning for San Mateo, earned the save with a flourish, striking out the side to clinch the championship.

“Bringing it home for San Mateo American is the best,” Coach Vanpool said.