After winning five games in five days, the Gilroy Minors didn’t
have enough in tank to bring home title
Seven games. Seven days. No rest.
The Gilroy Little League Softball Minors All-Stars were up against more than just their opponent, Martinez Little League in Thursday’s Northern California Little League Softball Championship game.
“My girls were tired,” said Gilroy manager D.J. Simpson. “Before the game, we told them, ‘Girls, just have fun. Let’s just get through this.’ But we couldn’t get anything going.”
Fatigue took its toll and the Gilroy All-Stars lost 11-1 to Martinez, one day after beating the previously undefeated team 8-6 to force the second championship game.
For Gilroy, Wednesday’s win also avenged its first loss against Martinez, a 2-0 second-round contest that sent the Garlic City team into the loser’s bracket early and forced Gilroy to win five games in five days to work its way back to the championship.
“This was huge. We had to beat them twice (to win the championship),” Simpson said. “They just exploded offensively.”
However, Gilroy kept it close in the first inning. The team responded to Martinez’s two runs in the top of the inning with its only run of the game.
Kristen Dennis (2-for-3) started things off with a single up the middle. Angelica Carrillo then moved her to third with a sacrifice. Shortly after, Dennis took advantage of a passed ball and stole home to bring Gilroy to within 2-1.
But Martinez scored four more in the second inning while Gilroy struggled to get on base. Even Gilroy’s Angelica Carrillo and Adrianna Ortega, who had produced lots of offense throughout the All-Star season, struggled at the plate.
“Angelica had an extremely awesome tournament,” Simpson said. “Adrianna Ortega was our big bat the whole time. She probably had the most RBI’s.”
Ortega (1-for-3) provided the only other hit besides Dennis’ two singles.
“(Martinez) had a good pitching team,” Simpson said. The manager added that Martinez’s top three batters and its catcher were strong offensive threats. The team out-hit Gilroy 11-3 and committed no errors.
For Gilroy, Holly Lam (2 K’s, 6 runs) started in the circle, pitching for two and a half innings before being replaced with Raeanna Estrada (6 K’s, 2 walks).
This is the end of the road for the Minors team this year, but Simpson believes the players will find success next summer.
“We’re very proud of them,” she said. “We know there’s going to be good things for them in the future.”
