The Hollister Heat 10U girls fastpitch softball team compiled a 4-1 record at the Strawberry Jam Tournament in Watsonville last week and earned first place after silencing the West Valley Slammers, as well as its bats, en route to a 10-0 win in the championship final.
The victory over West Valley allowed the Heat to avenge a loss from earlier in the tournament during pool play. The top-seeded Slammers, which were undefeated entering the championship final against Hollister, previously defeated the Heat one day earlier, 6-5.
"We had seen West Valley in a previous tournament and the loss from Saturday was still fresh in our minds," manager George Ramirez said. "We told our girls just to go out and play their game."
Hollister's one-run loss to the Slammers on Saturday included a series of throwing errors in the first inning that allowed West Valley to score four times. The Heat managed to battle back, but the first-inning four-spot by the Slammers proved to be the difference in the end.
Sunday's championship, meanwhile, began in a far different fashion. The Heat called upon hurler Madisyn Gutierrez-Urban, who proceeded to strike out the side in the first frame and set the tone for what turned into a no-hit victory, while the Hollister offense posted eight runs in the home half of the inning to take a commanding lead.
Suzi Brookshire led off the frame with a single before the Heat drew five walks. With two outs, Marisa Villegas was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing Brookshire to the plate for a second time. Brookshire and Kenedi Kraten connected on back-to-back doubles to put Hollister up 8-0.
Gutierrez-Urban continued her dominant performance in the following frame, once again striking out the side in the second. Gutierrez-Urban finished the game having faced only 12 batters, giving up just three walks and two ground ball outs for a no-hit performance in the championship game.
The Heat padded its lead with runs in the second and third inning, leading to a 10-run cushion. The game was called due to the mercy rule.
Prior to its convincing win in Sunday's championship, the Heat downed the NorCal Quakes 6-3 in bracketed play. Behind the bat of Maylani Guttirez, who hit a three-run homer that proved to be the difference in the game, Hollister advanced to the tournament championship as a result.
It was the second time in as many days the Heat matched up with the Quakes, however. On Saturday, Hollister opened pool play against NorCal and exploded for nine runs in the second inning en route to a 13-4 victory.
The hot hitting was lead by second baseman Barbara Jayda Botelho, who hit a three-run home run in the second inning and missed hitting another home run in the third when she hit a ball to deep left field. The ball instead landed halfway up the left-field fence for an easy stand-up double.
Later in pool play, the Heat trumped the Branham Hills Thunder 11-3. Botelho continued with her hot bat when she connected on a two-run triple, and helped the Heat score seven runs in the fourth inning.
See this week's installment of The San Benito Score below:
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