Girls Minors All-Star team drops 12-11 decision in NorCal title
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EUREKA – One run short of two in a row.
In a title-game shootout Wednesday in Eureka, the girls minors All-Star team from Gilroy Little League fell one run short of repeating as Northern California champions.
Pitted against Yuba City’s Peach Bowl team, the group of 9 and 10 year olds led by as much as five runs in the final game. A three-run double by Shawnte Garcia gave Gilroy a 9-4 lead in the bottom of the second. Multiple hits by Sara Ordaz, Michelle Sosa, Stephanie Gomez and Kaylana Mah led the Gilroy attack.
But Peach Bowl took advantage of five errors and eight walks and rallied for a 12-11 victory. The Yuba City team had forced the do-or-die game with a 9-3 victory over Gilroy Tuesday.
Before the final two losses, though, Gilroy won its first two games of the tournament, which covered little leagues from San Bernadino County to the Oregon border.
In its first game, Gilroy rolled to a 11-0 victory over Stockton’s Morada Little League on Saturday. The team got all the runs it needed in the first inning, when it crossed home plate six times on just one hit by Gomez. Several walks and a pair of wild pitches did Morada in on the mound and Gilroy pitcher Sarah Spindell did them in at the plate, surrendering just one hit.
On Sunday, Gilroy took the first meeting with Peach Bowl, 15-9. Led by Spindell, Sosa and Gomez, who went a combined 12-for-13, Gilroy pounded out 20 hits and took advantage of five Peach Bowl errors.
For the tournament, Gilroy’s top hitter was Sosa, who batted an incredible .692. Following closely behind were Spindell (.538), Gomez and Mah (both at .571). On the mound, the team was led by a trio of 9-year-olds, Spindell, Mah and Celeste Mendoza.
