San Mateo American seals the deal

O’Brien did it all to lead American to a 4-0 victory over host Bollinger Canyon, propelling his team into the Northern California tournament starting Saturday in Madera. Not only did the big right-hander close out the Section 3 tournament with a complete-game, two-hit shutout, he also went yard with a two-run home run in the first inning and was 2 for 2 with three RBIs on the evening.

“He’s the best Little League player probably in Northern California,” San Mateo American manager Jason Gordon said. “I think he showed it today. I actually think his home run in the first inning was bigger than what he did on the mound.”

O’Brien totaled 11 strikeouts in the game, including four in the first inning, thanks to Bollinger Canyon’s Sammy Allikian reaching on a strikeout-wild pitch. But the biggest K of the night was O’Brien’s 11th, solidifying his first complete game of the All-Stars summer.

“He had a great curveball because it was accurate and it was fooling all their hitters,” San Mateo American catcher Matthew Ward said. “They couldn’t touch it. And then his fastball, I felt like he never really stopped bringing the velo. … His arm, it looked like it never got tired. And it was very accurate. … He didn’t walk one batter, and that’s really impressive for six innings. So, that’s a great job.”

O’Brien walked the tightrope in the top of the first. With two on and one out, American’s mighty No. 23 hunkered down with back-to-back Ks.

American rode the momentum into the bottom of the inning, as O’Brien again impacted the scoreboard, this time with his bat. After Hudson Wong reached on a bunt single, O’Brien connected with a low slider, almost scooping it off the dirt, and barreling a long line drive that just cleared the waist-high fence in right-center field.

“It was just a line drive off the bat, and I didn’t think it was going to go out,” O’Brien said. “And it just carried.”

American hit four frozen ropes in the first, but it was the finesse bunt single by Wong that proved the spark.

After leadoff hitter Milo Werner got robbed on a diving catch by center fielder Cruz Salinas for the first out of the frame, Wong stole the momentum back with some small-ball magic, dropping a perfect bunt up the third-base line. The ball hugged the line off the bat. The Bollinger Canyon third baseman tried to let it roll foul, but the ball clipped the chalk and rolled back into fair territory allowing Wong to reach without a throw.

Then O’Brien dropped the hammer to get American on the board.

“It’s demoralizing to the other team when you put [a bunt] down and you can’t even get a throw off,” Gordon said. “It leaves you kind of flustered, and then the big boy comes up and it works out really well.”

The American power show wasn’t done though. Christopher Moreno followed with a solo home run to center to stake O’Brien to a 3-0 lead. Not only was it Moreno’s first homer of the All-Stars summer season, it was his first home run in a regulation game since last year. And the energy waiting for him back in the dugout was that of a team on a mission.

“It probably helped Jagger pitch with the lead,” Moreno said. “That was nice.”

Then, after a rough start, the American defense found its footing.

Third baseman William Meza has been nails at the hot corner all summer. So, when he committed two defensive errors through the first three innings, he walked back to his position after the second error wearing a rare show of emotion, shaking his head and pounding his glove.

Two batters later, with a runner at second and one out, Meza turned the tide by preserving the shutout with a clutch diving stop on a one-hop seed to his left. Meza used a step and a dive to pop to his feet and throw a laser strike with some attitude to first for the out.

“I was just trying to make up for the error and help Jagger out with less pitches,” Meza said.

Meza wasn’t done. With a runner at first and one out in the fifth, Bollinger Canyon No. 3 hitter Nathan Barbione hit a screaming liner that looked ticketed to left field, but Meza gloved it with a quick leaping catch, then fired behind the runner at first for an inning-ending double play.

“He just played steady defense,” Gordon said of Meza’s defense throughout the tournament. “A little bit of an outlier there (with the errors) … but hey, look, that’s why he’s out there. He’s absolutely nails. He’s played in a lot of these big games.”

Salinas was no doubt the outstanding defensive player of the tournament in center field for Bollinger Canyon, robbing Werner of a walk-off home run Tuesday night for the final out of the championship-round opener. Salinas enjoyed a command performance, robbing Werner against with a rangy diving catch in the right-center alley to open the bottom of the first Wednesday.

But American’s Wong showed some defensive chops in center field as well. Not to be outdone, Wong made an equally impressive diving catch in the second inning, ranging into the gap with one on and two out to take extra bases away from Trevor Lawrence.

“At first I kind of misread it, because it sounded and it looked like it was going to be over my head and in the gap,” Wong said. “And then it started dying, so I took a step back and I realized it was going to be more in and then I just dove and caught it.”

American added an insurance run in the third. Wong reached on an infield error with one out. Then O’Brien’s lined a double to right field, scoring Wong all the way from first base.

O’Brien took care of the rest, allowing just two hits — a one-out single to Barbione in the fourth, and an infield single to Ethan Lee with two outs in the sixth. O’Brien bounced back and finished off the night with his 11th strikeout, and a celebratory yawp to punctuate the complete-game gem.

“I think, honestly, it’s more special to have a complete game than just five innings and then put someone else in,” Ward said.

It was the first CG O’Brien has thrown in two months, since the San Mateo American Little League regular season. The American coaching staff has managed pitch counts strictly to keep all their pitchers available from game to game. O’Brien was feeling it after the game — only not in his arm, but in his voice.

“My arm’s feeling great,” O’Brien said. “I’m just glad we got this over with. My voice is done. I’ve been screaming the entire time.”

However, no one was more relieved with the win than Werner. He was robbed of the chance to be the hero Tuesday with the remarkable finish, as Salinas took a three-run home run away from him to end the game, preserving a 4-2 win for Bollinger Canyon.

“It feels good to bounce back, especially after him robbing that catch,” Werner said. “It put our whole team down, but we came back and won it.”

American opens play in the seven-team Nor Cal tournament Saturday. First pitch at Lions Town & Country Park is schedule for 11:30 a.m.