San Mateo American wins first District 52 Majors title since 1970

Halpin got his team on the board in the first inning with an RBI double. But it was on the mound where he shined, falling one out shy of a no-hitter. Ultimately he worked four shutout innings, striking out six. He set down the first seven batters he faced and took a no-no into the fourth until Nick Rogers broke it up with a two-out single.

“He was focused today,” San Mateo American manager P.J. Jeremiah said. “That’s what he can do when he’s on. (It was) the whole team, but he’s a big part of it.”

Ryan Victor was the man of the hour, though, as he delivered the decisive hit in the bottom of the fourth.

With American up 9-0 and on the verge of scoring the mercy-rule walk-off, Victor was inserted as a pinch hitter. It’s a role to which he’s fast grown accustomed for the All-Star squad, after serving as the cleanup hitter for his regular-season Orioles team all year. Victor delivered, shooting a long RBI single to the left-center wall to score Justis Daily with the game-winner.

It was quite the way to cap a title run in which the appropriately named Victor believed all along.

“I did think we were going to win the championship,” Victor said. “I didn’t know I was going to have the winning hit. But I had a good feeling about us.”

Victor’s feeling turned out to be right on the money. American swept through the winner’s bracket by outscoring opponents 65-11. Four of their five tournament wins were via mercy-rule.

“We were lucky to get four-inning games like that to keep our pitching in good shape,” P.J. Jeremiah said.

Halpin was in exceptional shape Thursday after working four-plus innings in American’s semifinal game Sunday, a 14-8 win over San Carlos American. But to Halpin, Thursday’s gem was just a day in the life of a burgeoning baseball superstar.

“I’d like to perform at the top of my game every single game,” Halpin said. “I just looked at it as another Little League game.”

American’s offense followed suit, rallying for five runs in the first inning and never looking back. They sent nine batters to the plate in the frame, sparked by their first three hitters doubling back-to-back-to-back.

Jace Jeremiah got the carousel moving with a two-bagger into the right-field corner. American’s leadoff hitter said he was contending with some nerves prior to the game, but his older brother helped loosen him up just before the team took infield practice.

“In our pregame talk, we had a joke with my brother Josh,” Jace Jeremiah said. “That kind of calmed me down.”

Halpin followed with an RBI double up the left-center gap. Then Daily capped the trifecta with an RBI shot up the right-center gap. Daily moved to third on a one-out single by Robert Vaihola, then scored on a Ronier Babiera RBI single. Vaihola advanced to third on the knock and scored on an RBI groundout by Gio Affrunti, giving American a 5-0 lead.

Belmont-Redwood Shores starting pitcher Jasper Loo set down the side in order in the second. But American had no intention of letting their opponents get back into the game. When Belmont-Redwood Shores’ Daniel Awad led off the third inning looking to break up the no-hitter, American’s center fielder Terence Loville denied him by tracking down a sharp line drive up the right-center gap with a tremendous diving catch.

“He’s one of the best,” Halpin said of his rangy center fielder.

American scored twice more in the third. Loville led off the frame by getting hit by a pitch. Then Vaihola scorched a long liner over the left-field fence for a two-run home run, giving National a 7-0 lead. In the sixth, Daniel Geller, Jace Jeremiah and Vaihola each contributed hits to the game-winning rally.

Vaihola was 3 for 3 with three RBIs in the game.

Rogers — who had the lone hit for Belmont-Redwood Shores — played for San Mateo American three years ago until his family moved to Belmont.

“I just tried to get the ball in play and get on base to try and score some runs,” Rogers said of the fourth-inning single.

Belmont-Redwood Shores manager Ryan Flores said he was pleased with his team’s performance throughout the tourney.

“After the game, they were upbeat,” Flores said. “They were just being kids. But they fought hard to get to this point and I’m proud of them. They showed a lot of character.”

With the District 52 title, San Mateo American advances to the Section 3 Tournament, beginning July 15 at San Ramon’s Memorial Park.

“I’m pretty happy,” P.J. Jeremiah said. “But it’s get a day’s rest and go out and do it again.”