Before its championship showdown with Pinole/Hercules, Gilroy
Little League 9-10 year old All-Star softball manager George
Sandoval knew his girls would have to swing a good bat to hang with
the heavy-hitting opponent.
Before its championship showdown with Pinole/Hercules, Gilroy Little League 9-10 year old All-Star softball manager George Sandoval knew his girls would have to swing a good bat to hang with the heavy-hitting opponent.
“We knew going into this game that it was going to be a hitting game,” Sandoval said. “Pinole/Hercules had a lot of big hitters.”
Gilroy heeded the call and banged out 15 hits en route to a 13-5 victory and a Northern California Division II state championship Tuesday night.
Each team made a statement in the opening inning, however, with its three runs in the bottom of the first, Gilroy jumped out to a 3-1 advantage.
The hits continued in the second inning highlighted by a pair of two-RBI hits. Juliana Santiago ignited the big inning with a two-run double and Emily Boykin followed suit with a single to bring home another two. Gilroy ended up scoring six runs to counter a one-run top of the second by Pinole/Hercules.
Amber Herrera drove in Maria Sandoval in the third inning to keep the game far enough out of reach. But Pinole/Hercules responded in the fourth with three hits, which resulted in two runs. However, a relentless Gilroy squad tallied one run in the fourth, for a 11-4 lead, before putting the finishing touches on the win in the fifth.
After Pinole/Hercules managed to squeeze out a run in the top of the fifth, Gilroy iced the game with two runs. Boykin’s RBI-single scored Maddie Cox, who started the inning with a triple, and Herrera crossed home on a fielder’s choice.
Emily Fredricks pitched a complete game, striking out six along the way. Boykin finished with four hits and Herrera had three.
NOTE: With the win, Gilroy Little League Softball All-Star teams (9-10, 11s, 12s and Juniors) each won Northern California Division II championships in the same season for the first time in history.
