Willy Folau powers San Mateo American to District 52 12s championship

American’s No. 5 hitter did the biggest damage in Wednesday’s winner-take-all championship showdown against Hillsborough at Middlefield Ballpark. With American going large for a six-run third, Folau had the big blast, teeing off for a line-shot, three-run home run to center field to power his team to an 11-1 victory to claim the District 52 banner.

“I was pumped,” Folau said. “I’ve never been that excited.”

Folau totaled four home runs in the tournament as American had to take the longest route possible to the championship. After dropping their opening game of the double-elimination tourney 5-4 to Hillsborough, American won seven straight games, the second straight year the San Mateo American 12s have done so.

To add more drama to the daunting challenge of navigating the elimination bracket, American’s star player, Landon King, missed two early games while attending an audition with the Team USA 12-and-under team in Cary, North Carolina. But that didn’t stop American from staying alive, getting past Alpine for a grueling 11-10 win en route to outscoring opponents 84-28 in the tourney.

“We started to find a path,” San Mateo American manager Paul Witten said. “And when Landon came back, we started to relax, and it was like: ‘Let’s just do this thing.’”

Folau enjoyed a mammoth home run swing in Tuesday’s championship series opener, parking one over the left-field concourse and into the neighboring library parking lot. It was the highlight of American’s 10-4 victory to force Wednesday’s if-necessary game.

The American offense got off to a fast start out of the gate Wednesday, loading the bases in the first inning to set the stage for a terrifying two-run single off the bat of Folau.

In the third, Folau provided the big blast. Max Yeh set the table in the third with a leadoff single to right. Pinch-hitter Apollo Lee followed with a base hit to center. Then came the big guns, as King drove an RBI double to left-center to plate Yeh. Loew followed with an RBI single to center to score Lee.

Then Folau stepped to the plate and crushed the first pitch he saw from Hillsborough starting pitcher Charlie Chesnosky for a three-run bomb to set off a celebration in the American dugout, and around the base paths.

“I knew it was gone and that was a huge momentum shift,” King said. “I think without that, it would have been a lot closer game, and a lot would have changed.”

Hillsborough had shown some signs of life.

American starting pitcher DJ Ruiz exited after 2 1/3 innings after dealing with some arm fatigue. The right-hander threw 1 1/3 innings Tuesday, serving as an important bridge as a middle-innings reliever, while staying under 20 official pitches to be available to start Wednesday’s game.

Ruiz departed with a runner on and a 2-2 count to Hillsborough cleanup batter Ryan Duffell, who didn’t wait around against American reliever Even Gilbert, cranking the first pitch he saw off the left-field wall to drive home Chesnosky, cutting the American lead to 2-1.

“I had to protect with two strikes; I couldn’t go down looking,” Duffell said. “And I didn’t want to let my team down. I just swung and the ball went far.”

But Gilbert settled in, working 2 2/3 innings to earn the save.

“I was just pitching strikes, so I just settled down,” Gilbert said.

And American soon broke it open in the bottom of the frame.

Then in the fifth inning, American rallied to walk off with a mercy-rule win. And this time, when Folau came to the plate with two runners on, the San Mateo American fanbase — including the American 10s team that won the District 52 10s banner two days previous — chanting the big slugger’s name: “Willy! Willy! Willy!”

“It means a lot, probably because I am the biggest guy on the field,” Folau said. “I have a powerful swing and I am expected to hit a lot of home runs. … But I try not to put a lot of pressure on myself.”

Folau settled for a walk to load the bases. Three batters later, Jake McGee was the walk-off hero, floating a bloop single down the right-field line to score Loew — who had an RBI single earlier in the inning — with the game-winning run.

In the midst of the American celebration in the middle of the diamond, a stunned Hillsborough squad collected itself — with thoughts of reloading for some tournament ball later this summer, including a trip to play in Cooperstown, New York.

“Of course, it was not fun,” Duffell said. “We were down. But I know we have more games, so we can keep our heads up.”

American now advances to the Section 3 tournament at District 45 in Castro Valley. The four-team tournament opens Saturday, July 16.

“The job’s not done,” King said. “We have a lot of work to do. We just have to keep winning and keep playing the game we play.”