Local baseball club plays in Super Series Winter Nationals
PHOENIX, Ariz. – After head coach Warren Gaspar’s Gilroy All-Star team fell one win shy of the district championship, the dedicated skipper decided to keep most of the squad together and add a few more to form the Silicon Valley Extreme.
“We just wanted to keep on playing baseball,” Coach Gaspar said.
It was a perfect scenario since the little league season was over and there was no baseball to be played locally. With two new additions from Gilroy, two from Morgan Hill and one from Watsonville, Gaspar’s 11-year-old squad qualified for the Super Series Winter Nationals in Phoenix, Arizona with a third-place showing in the Modesto Tournament.
While most of the qualifying teams had played together for more than three years, the Gilroy squad was only four months into its first season before heading over for the national event.
“It was pretty awesome. It felt like we were going to a national tournament,” Coach Gaspar said. “The opening ceremony had 5,000 people and it was held at the Seattle Mariners spring training facility.
“I think the kids and the parents really enjoyed it. For a lot of them, they’ve never been to something like that.”
The local diamondmen finished with a 4-2 record for fifth place – starting strong with three straight wins in pool play and one victory in the elimination round before dropping their final two games.
“It was a lot of fun. We did way better than what the parents and coaches expected,” Coach Gaspar said. “We had a lot of fun. Eat, sleep baseball for a week.”
And the Extreme players had an added treat when former San Francisco Giants’ third baseman Matt Williams spent some time talking with them and signing autographs.
In pool play, the Extreme opened with a 12-7 nod over the Chandler Black Sox, out of Phoenix, Ariz. Starter Lukas Fortino got the win with three solid innings before giving way to reliever Taylor Chris – who closed the game out.
Gilroy rallied for a six-run second frame to take a commanding lead. Jordan Holler highlighted the inning by belting a two-run homer into the right-center field gap.
“We played on a big field. Once the ball got past the outfielder, it was gone,” said Coach Gaspar of Holler’s long ball.
Also picking up RBIs in the second inning were Jered Schreckengost, Kaoha Gaspar, Neal Dinsmore, and Chris.
But the Black Sox responded with a six-run inning of their own to take a one-run lead. The Extreme, however, followed up with three runs in the third to go ahead for good.
Up next, Gilroy won a 10-5 decision over another Phoenix team as Larry Araiza and Schreckengost combined on the hill for the win. At the plate, Gaspar and Neal Dinsmore both went 2-for-3, and Chris went 1-for-2.
In their final pool play contest, the Extreme ran away with a 10-4 victory over the Arrowhead Curve, also out of Phoenix. Gaspar got the start, but eventually gave way to relievers Dinsmore and Brandon Tuminero – who recorded six strike-outs in only two innings of work.
After falling behind 3-1 in the first inning, a two-run single by Dinsmore tied the score up. Gilroy then scored two runs in each of the last two innings to seal the victory.
Coming out of pool play as the number one seed, the Extreme won a tight 8-7 decision over the Gauchos, out of Glendale, Arizona. Fortino started on the hill and Chris finished the game off.
The Extreme rallied with a six-run third inning but then fell behind by one in the fifth frame. The locals then surged ahead with one run in the fifth and one in the sixth.
Following a 10-7 loss to the Phoenix Yankees, the Extreme lost 16-8 to the Black Sox to end their tournament run.
