Somewhere in a mob around the pitcher’s mound, surrounded by
parents, family and friends reminiscent of hounding paparazzi, the
Gilroy Little League Juniors (13 and 14 year olds) baseball White
Sox posed like a bunch of celebrities.
Somewhere in a mob around the pitcher’s mound, surrounded by parents, family and friends reminiscent of hounding paparazzi, the Gilroy Little League Juniors (13 and 14 year olds) baseball White Sox posed like a bunch of celebrities.
Camera flashes popped one after the other, reflecting off of the players’ gold medals. And a brand-new banner said it all: District 59 Champions.
Justin Hale took a no-hitter deep into the seventh and final inning, the offense manufactured just enough runs to get by and an errorless defensive effort sealed a 2-0 victory over the Evergreen Giants on Friday night in Milpitas, recording Gilroy Little League’s first District title at the Junior level in what some believe in the ball park of 15 years.
“It feels really good,” said an ecstatic White Sox manager Mark Ordaz. “We got the confidence going after our first win. I told them coming into this one, ‘no errors, play good baseball.’ They responded.”
Hale retired 18 straight Giants following a first-inning, one-out hit batsman – a nifty pitcher, to shortstop, to first double play ended that minor threat – and stood one out away from sewing up the no-hitter. However, Evergreen’s Bryan Tate laced a single to right field much to the chagrin of Hale’s supporters. After a brief mound visit from Ordaz, Hale induced a line drive to Gilbert Cano at shortstop for the final out and the ignition switch for the Sox center-of-the-infield celebration.
“I started thinking about it in the fourth inning,” Hale said of the impending no-hitter. “We have been doing good and progressed during the season. It feels great to win a championship.”
Hale, who went to a heavy-breaking north-to-south curve ball early and often to set up his fastball, needed his ‘A’ game on the hill, as Giants’ starter Jason Tate was equally dominant.
The two hurlers combined for nine straight strikeouts spanning the bottom of the first to the top of the third. Neither team had more than one runner on the bases in an inning. Hale finished with seven Ks while Tate fanned 10.
“Those were two very good pitchers,” Ordaz said. “We worked (the Giants hitters) inside and outside, mixing in a couple change-ups with the fast and curve.”
The White Sox were able to sneak across a run before the strikeout spree in the bottom of the first. Joseph Lujan didn’t settle for just earning a base on balls. The Sox catcher stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch with one out. Hale, who went 3-for-3 with a triple at the dish – the only three hits for the White Sox – helped his cause with an RBI base hit up the middle for a tally that proved vital as the contest continued.
Hale led off the bottom of the fourth frame with an infield single, stole second and chugged to third on a Cano fielder’s choice ground out to put the Sox in business with one out.
Knowing runs were at a premium, Ordaz called for the safety squeeze and lefty Daniel Ordaz delivered. Daniel placed a bunt down the third-base line as Hale scampered in for the 2-0 lead.
“He held back and then went for it at the last moment,” Hale said of his teammates bunt execution. “It was good.”
Approaching his pitch-count limit of 95 – though never in danger of reaching that number – Hale began to challenge the Giants hitters, who started to ping the ball around the yard in the fifth and sixth. Johnny Olvera, though, preserved the no-hitter for the time being with a stellar over-the-shoulder catch in center field, snagging a well-struck ball in full stride for the second out of the sixth.
“I was starting to get a little gassed,” Hale said. “But I just told my defense to keep it up. And I was throwing good pitches still.”
The White Sox road to the championship began with a 6-5 squeaker against the Evergreen Red Sox. Gilroy enjoyed a much smoother transition into the finals with a 17-5 triumph over the Milpitas A’s.
— Moments after the medal presentation, the coaches and players knew what they had to do next. As they had done after their semifinals victory, it was time to visit Nate Bonsell in the hospital.
“He would’ve pitched tonight,” Mark Ordaz said.
Bonsell, who served as the White Sox No. 1 pitcher during the regular season, suffered spontaneous pneumothoraces (collapsed lung), at the outset of the playoffs. A full recovery is expected, Bonsell’s father said, but the players clearly missed their pitcher, cheering his name as it was called during the award ceremony.
View more photos of the District 59 Championship at our
