Playing in their seventh game of the Northern California
Division II Championship tournament held in Manteca last week,
Gilroy Little League’s Girls Minors softball team swept past
Martinez on Friday for a 14-4 victory, giving the 9- and
10-year-old all-stars the banner they had been hoping to bring home
all along.
Playing in their seventh game of the Northern California Division II Championship tournament held in Manteca last week, Gilroy Little League’s Girls Minors softball team swept past Martinez on Friday for a 14-4 victory, giving the 9- and 10-year-old all-stars the banner they had been hoping to bring home all along.
Gilroy started the game by taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning and only continued to add to that run total through the help of several standout performances. Karli Martinez went 4-for-4 at the plate and scored four times, and center fielder Camille Garcia and first basemen Mackenzie Holt both recorded three hits.
Just a night before, Gilroy had beaten Martinez – the defending champs – by a score of 9-4.
Understanding that the girls played better defense with a lead over the course of the tournament, Gilroy manager George Sandoval had his team play as the visitors. The move worked.
“[We] got on the board first and never looked back,” Sandoval said.
Lauren Castro got the win, pitching a 5-hitter to go with 11 strikeouts.
An 11-0 win over East Sacramento on Wednesday set up the appearance in the finals, as Gilroy was led by Anna Gamboa, who threw a 1-hit shutout, and Karli Martinez, who was a perfect 4-for-4 with 5 RBIs.
Catcher Brook Loesch may have increased the team’s mojo going into the contest by giving personalized greeting cards to coach Mike Reyes and Sandoval. Loesch also gave greeting cards, which had lucky coins taped to them, and red, white, and blue string bracelets to the players and fans.
“They worked,” Sandoval said.
Overall, Gilroy went 6-1 in the tournament, losing their only contest 16-6 on Tuesday, July 22. Although, the defeat wasn’t necessarily all bad considering the way things turned out.
“Lauren Castro said that she didn’t mind losing that night because it meant that we were going to play more games,” Sandoval said. “She was having so much fun that she did not want it to end.”
Sandoval thanked all the fans and parents that made the championship possible, from decorating the dugout with red, white and blue stars to simply supporting the team with cheers. He also gave special thanks to his coaches: Mike Reyes, D. Vasquez, Dave Eddy, Sarina Sandoval and Amber Gamboa.
