The Gilroy Junior All Stars have not had the start they hoped for at the Junior Softball World Series in Kirkland, Wash., but manager Nelson Villanueva can’t be disappointed in the effort.
His West region champions were dropped for the third straight day at the World Series. This time it was a 8-3 final at the hands of the Southwest champs from Columbus, Texas, but after the game Villanueva remained upbeat.
“We want to finish the game strong and keep that momentum going,” he said, alluding to the pair of seventh inning runs his team scored. “We’re not out of it, we just have to beat Mexico tomorrow.”
Despite its winless record in pool play, Gilroy could still salvage a quarterfinal berth with a win over Mexicali at 11 a.m. Wednesday, but would likely also need to survive a run differential tiebreaker to keep its season alive.
Gilroy starting pitcher Bryannalee Moreno kept her team in the game throughout despite surrendering a pair of first inning runs. She finished with five strikeouts and saw her team climb to within a run before Texas exploded for five runs in the sixth inning to put things away.
“The girls played hard today against a really good pitcher,” Villanueva said. “It was tough, but we battled and had an opportunity.”
The most sizable challenge came in the form of Texas starting pitcher Hali Wisnoskie, a 6-foot-1 flame thrower who allowed only a single base hit in her six innings of work in the circle before exiting.
Gilroy’s Wednesday morning game against Mexico is its final of pool play. The top four teams from each pool advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals.
