A pair of Gilroy Little League softball All-Star teams stayed
afloat in their respective District 59 tournaments, with one
advancing to the championship game.
A pair of Gilroy Little League softball All-Star teams stayed afloat in their respective District 59 tournaments, with one advancing to the championship game.
Manager George Sandoval’s Majors All-Stars skated past Evergreen 14-1 in a mercy-rule shortened, four-inning affair on Thursday.
Gilroy erased a short-lived, one-run, first-inning deficit, posting six runs in their half of the frame. Pati Soria, Maddy Cox, Michaela Decker, Cynthia Del Real, Maria Sandoval, Morgan England and Julia Rodriguez-Vela all came across for the Little Leaguers.
“Gilroy played a great game,” Sandoval said. “They had couple of running errors, other than that, they were flawless on offense and defense.”
Gilroy tacked on one run in the second before exploding for seven more in the third, with Liezl Clark, Anjelica Reyes and Nikki Villanueva joining Soria, Cox, Decker and Del Real in the scoring parade.
Meanwhile, Maria Sandoval settled in after allowing the early run, striking out six and allowing just one hit and zero walks in four innings. She faced one batter over the four-inning minimum of 12.
The Majors play for the District 59 championship on Thursday. Many of the players were part of Gilroy Little League’s Minors All-Stars last season – a team that won the state championship.
First pitch is slated for 5:30 p.m. at Eastridge Little League’s Reid-Hillview ballpark.
The winner advances to the state tournament, which gets underway July 9 in Rio Linda.
In other All-Stars softball action, the Juniors (13 and 14 year olds) have had to work up through the losers bracket, but that hasn’t stopped them yet.
After dropping their first game, manager Glen Irby’s Juniors won twice late last week, outlasting Evergreen on two occasions.
The first victory came Thursday in a 20-15 barnburner. The two teams cooled a bit in the rematch Friday, however, Gilroy maintained the upperhand in a closer 4-2 contest. Gilroy continues play Friday.
