Gilroy Girls Majors fall short in double-elimination final
Manteca
Playing in its seventh game of the Northern California Division II Championship tournament held in Manteca, Calif. 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.
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.
Girls Majors
Gilroy won’t be making another appearance at the Little League Softball World Series this year.
The Girls Majors softball team of Gilroy Little League came agonizingly close to winning the Northern California Division II Championship in Sacramento last week, which would have allowed the team to advance to the Western Regionals being played in Vancouver, Wash – a qualifying tournament for the LLSWS, but a string of costly errors in the first game of a double-elimination final against Red Bluff and cold bats in the second contest ended the team’s season.
Ahead 8-0 going into the fifth inning of the first contest, Gilroy committed eight errors in the frame, which resulted in three runs, and five more errors in the sixth, allowing Red Bluff to even the score 8-all before winning 10-8 in an extra seventh inning.
“We had it in the bag,” manager Ray Covarrubias said. “We were undefeated and had to win just one more game.”
“[We] had a 6-0 lead and got a little too comfortable and just started falling apart.”
Raeanna Covarrubias was strong on the mound through four innings of the first game, allowing no runs while also batting 1-for-2 with an RBI. She was aided by Adrianna Ortega (4-for-4, 4 RBIs), Brianna Perez (2-for-3, 2 RBIs) and Holly Lam, who hit a triple and scored on a passed ball. But in the end, the defense couldn’t hold on for the win.
The effects of falling in the first game could have carried over to the next contest, as Gilroy lost 1-0 and only recorded one hit.
Lam pitched “a great game,” according to Ray Covarrubias, recording six strikeouts. Red Bluff was fortunate again, though, scoring a run in the third off another error.
“It kind of carried on from the fifth inning [of the first game] to the next day and we we’re just flat,” Ray Covarrubias said. “Their minds weren’t in it and they were still in shock that they lost the big lead.”
Still, the coach said it was a pleasure working with such a talented squad.
“We had a good team,” he said. “We had a good core of girls.”
Overall, Gilroy went 3-2 for the tournament.
Girls Minors All-Stars (9-10)
Name (Regular season team)
Lauren Castro (Heat)
Julia Chizanskos (Sunbirds)
Michaela Decker (Heat)
Kailee Eddy (Heat)
Anna Gamboa (Brakettes)
Camille Garcia (Riptide)
Jocelyn Gomez (Brakettes)
Ali Hathaway (Bandits)
Mackenzie Holt (Riptide)
Ashley Irby (Sunbirds)
Taylor Loesch (Bandits)
Karli Martinez (Brakettes)
Pat Soria (Bandits)
Manager – George Sandoval (Brakettes)
Coach – Mike Reyes (Brakettes)
Coach – Daniel Vasquez (Brakettes)
