San Mateo American wins thriller in extras as District 52 All-Star 12s tourney kicks off

In the end, though, American finished off the shutout to walk away with a thrilling 1-0 extra-inning victory over Belmont-Redwood Shores to advance through the winners’ bracket Sunday at Middlefield Ballpark.

“I was feeling great,” said O’Brien, who worked 4 2/3 hitless innings before giving way to Ward in relief. “Matthew did great too. That’s what we’re known for, our pitching, you know? We’re just great together.”

That’s for sure.

In 2022, O’Brien and Ward, along with Connor Workman, comprised a big three that combined for four no-hitters en route to capturing the Northern California Little League 10s championship. This year — the all-important 12-year-old season known for the dream of dreams, the road to South Williamsport and the Little League World Series — they’re gunning for much more.

The pitching passed its first test Sunday. O’Brien faced just one over the minimum through 4 2/3 innings, with the only baserunner he allowed coming in the third inning when James Pyrz reached on an infield error. Ward entered with two outs in the fifth to keep O’Brien’s pitch count under 50 — making him eligible to pitch again on two days’ rest — and gave up the no-hitter when Brady Dolan singled to start the sixth.

Dolan’s single put a scare into American as he advanced all the way to second on the play when the right fielder tried to gun him out at first, but uncorked a throw all the way to the home plate backstop. Ward buckled down though, and navigated the jam, stranding two Belmont runners to force extra innings.

“Matthew Ward has been through so many of these games,” San Mateo American manager Jason Gordon said. “Him and Jagger, they’re just unflappable. ... To give up zero runs in a seven-inning game, in a Little League game, is pretty impressive.”

The pitching tandem relied on some slick defense. O’Brien struck out five and induced four groundouts. Workman at shortstop made two terrific plays look easy to set the tone in the first inning.

“When I go out there pitching, I’m always confident in my infield,” O’Brien said. “I know they can make any play possible. Connor is one of the best on our team. Just a brick wall out there.”

But the defensive gem O’Brien called “a big-time play” came in the fifth inning when Hudson Wong — moving from center to short after Workman took over behind the plate to spell the starting backstop Ward — turned O’Brien’s final pitch into a spectacle, going into a knee slide to backhand a grounder off the bat of Colin Walton, propping himself up and firing across the diamond to get a bang-bang out at first.

“We’re very lucky,” Gordon said. “We’ve got two guys. Hudson is a dynamite center fielder, but — the catching rules, we’ve got to get Matty out of there so he can close the game; Connor’s our next best catcher; Jagger was ineligible because he pitched — it’s a luxury to have a kid like Hudson Wong that you can bring to shortstop and have zero letdown at all.”

The most consequential defensive gem, however, was first baseman Maddox Stone’s fancy glove work to end the sixth inning and, as it were, prolong the game.

After Dolan reached second to start the sixth, Ward bounced back to induce a comeback grounder, getting the out while keeping Dolan in check at second. American then intentionally walked Nick Ramirez. Ward got the second out of the inning with a strikeout, then locked up with Matthew Lo, who topped a grounder to the left side of the infield for Wong at short.

Wong charged the ball hard but his throw across the diamond was short of the mark, taking a nasty hop for Stone at first. The longtime first baseman made a do-or-die swipe at the ball — had he missed it, Dolan would have easily scored from second to end the game — and gathered the medium hop with a clutch grab to retire the side.

“I always work on the short hop ... for that exact reason,” Stone said. “So, I just remembered that and I just had my glove just scoop it. I personally thought it got under. Thank got it didn’t.”

American seized on the momentum to get on the board for the first time in the tournament in the top of the seventh.

Vinny Ferrari worked six-plus innings, allowing five hits while striking out four. The right-hander departed after facing one batter in the seventh, when Wong led off the frame with a bunt single.

“We developed a lot of command and control with the off-speed pitched,” Belmont-Redwood Shores manager Nathaniel Ferrari said. “We used off-speed to kind of keep them off-balance. He probably threw the fewest amount of fastballs that he’d ever thrown in a game — a lot of sliders and changeups. We were able to finish them off on a lot of full counts with relying on the slider to stay in the zone, which it did. So, he pitched great.”

Then with two on and one out, American’s Milo Werner came up with the clutch hit his team had been waiting for.

O’Brien had previously reached on a fielder’s choice, switching places with Wong on an infield grounder on which O’Brien’s hustle averted a double play on the back end. After Ward drew a walk — the only non-intentional walk of the game for either team — to move O’Brien into scoring position, Werner laced a single to right, with O’Brien hustling around to just beat the throw home with a feet-first slide and a cloud of dust.

After Ward’s rocky sixth, the stoic right-hander set down the side in order in the seventh.

“He did what Matthew Ward does,” Jason Gordon said. “He never changes his expression, he pitches like there’s nobody on base every single time.”

American now advances through the winners’ bracket to face Hillsborough in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round at 4 p.m.