The Gilroy Yankees defeated Scotts Valley in an offense slugfest Friday night in Aptos 18-17 to win the District 39 Tournament of Champions.
Gilroy was up 10-4 after four innings, but Scotts Valley rallied and went up by four runs late in the game. The Yankees scored five runs in the final inning then held Scotts Valley scoreless to win.
Daniel Cortez, who started in in right field before moving to center, made a game-saving catch at the fence to keep Scotts Valley off the board.
“We hadn’t had that many runs scored against us all year,” said coach David Gallardo. “We went up against a batting machine, but we batted also. Many of the players were crying after we got behind. Then it turned to joy when we went ahead.”
Ryan Fredricks pitched four innings for the Yankees. Alex Vega pitched one inning, and Travis Hill closed it off.
Kyle Doughty, who was filling in at first base for ill All-Star Adam Gonzales, hit a home run over the fence for the Yankees.
“I haven’t seen one hit over the fence all tournament,” Gallardo said.
Vega, Fredricks, Zachary Loo, Jaylyn Gallardo and Dillon Calimpong helped spark the offense for the Yankees.
Ray Aguirre, Tim Crooker and Andrew Burdick also contributed to the win.
