In the dugout before the start of Friday’s game against
Asia-Pacific’s Bacolod City of the Philippines, Gilroy’s coaches
tried to downplay the abilities of the other team’s pitcher,
Veronica Belleza.
Portland – In the dugout before the start of Friday’s game against Asia-Pacific’s Bacolod City of the Philippines, Gilroy’s coaches tried to downplay the abilities of the other team’s pitcher, Veronica Belleza.
As the Garlic City squad discovered in a 2-1 loss to Bacolod City, however, Belleza was for real.
“We were saying, ‘Oh, it looks like she’s throwing as fast as another Little League pitcher we’ve seen,'” said Gilroy manager Dennis Castro.
“We were just lying.”
There was no downplaying the 12-year-old Belleza’s fastball, which was clocked at as fast as 62 mph, a speed that is typical of a college pitcher, Castro said.
From 40 feet, he said, that’s about equivalent to facing an 80 to 90 mph pitch in the major leagues.
And predictably, Belleza quieted the usually lively Gilroy bats, striking out the first nine batters she faced before Alissa Castro managed a line out.
But Gilroy starter Danielle Kinoshita matched her counterpart scoreless inning for scoreless inning through four frames. And it was Gilroy which got to Belleza first to score the first run of the game.
When Kinoshita faltered in the fifth, however, Bacolod City put two across to take the lead and Belleza recovered enough to shut down Gilroy the rest of the way.
The Gilroy 11- and 12-year-olds fell to 0-2 in Pool B, while Asia-Pacific improved to 2-0. Gilroy had dropped a 12-11 heartbreaker to South representative McLean, Va. in its first game on Thursday, while Bacolod City dominated Europe’s Brzeg, Poland in a 7-0 win on the first day of the Little League Softball World Series.
Gilroy’s chances of making the semifinals, which require a first- or second-place finish in pool play, took a major hit. The local girls now need to win their final two Pool B games, first against Europe and then against the Central team from Louisville, Ky. … and cross their fingers for help from everybody else. For the least complicated route to a championship berth, Gilroy would now like to see Asia-Pacific go undefeated, Europe to somehow get a win over McLean and Central to also beat the South. That would leave Gilroy with the tiebreaker for second in Pool B over Louisville based on their head-to-head result.
So was Belleza the fastest pitcher the team has seen?
“Yes,” said Gilroy catcher Melanie Morelos, who reached on an error and crossed the plate in the fifth inning for the West team’s only run. “And (she was) more consistent (than anyone we’ve faced).”
Belleza kept Gilroy hitless until the fifth inning. By then, though, every Gilroy hitter had at least one at-bat against the Asia-Pacific ace and had got their timing down. Once that happened, the Gilroy team started getting their bats on some pitches.
“(We had them take) shorter swings and make adjustments to put the ball in play,” Dennis Castro said.
Gilroy’s big breakthrough happened in the top of the fifth when Morelos reached on an error after sending a screaming grounder to the shortstop. With third baseman Brenna O’Neill at the plate, Morelos advanced to second on a passed ball. Then O’Neill belted a two-strike single to right field for Gilroy’s first – and only – hit of the game.
With outfielder Elaina Vasquez up to bat, Morelos advanced to third and O’Neill moved to second. With two strikes on her, Vasquez came through with a grounder to first. She was tagged out by Bacolod City first baseman Annalie Benjamen, but Morelos beat a running Benjamen to home plate and made it 1-0 Gilroy.
Kinoshita wasn’t nearly as overpowering as Belleza, but well-placed pitches and an errorless game from the Gilroy defense did the trick through four.
Unfortunately, in the bottom of the fifth inning, Asia-Pacific found its groove at the plate. Sundai Alipato singled, as did the following batter, Michelle Lentija. Benjamen sent both runners home with a clutch single to left to give the Philippine team a 2-1 lead.
With runners on second and third, Kinoshita struck out Jossel Marie Talaban and Cindy Carol Banay grounded out to Alissa Castro at short, getting Gilroy out of the inning.
In the top of the sixth inning, Gilroy couldn’t produce the hits to come back.
With its 0-2 record, Dennis Castro believes his team is out of the running for a spot in the semifinals. But the team has at least two more chances to get wins.
“(The team) is still the best Gilroy’s ever had and we’re at the World Series,” he said, adding that the defense made great strides after Thursday’s five-error game against McLean.
