In an epic battle of youth baseball, the GVSLL 11U All-Stars battled to come back from behind in a a back-and-forth affair to defeat the Fletcher Hills 11U All-Stars (FHLL) 10-9 in extra innings. The game was a true slugfest producing dramatic rallies and tenacious play by both teams, keeping fans on edge (much more than they would care for) throughout the duration of the game.
Goleta wasted no time getting on the board in the top of the first. Liam Anderson and Brooks Caldwell hit back-to-back singles. Anderson was picked off at second as Rafael Berumen delivered another single to right field. Dylan Corlett loaded the bases on a walk bringing Luke Brennan to the plate who hit a sky-high ball to deep third that was not fielded cleanly allowing Caldwell to score and give Goleta an early 1-0 lead.
Fletcher Hills responded immediately in the bottom of the first. With back-to-back doubles, Fletcher Hills got on the board tying the game at 1-1. Fletcher Hills continued to threaten including a deep caught fly ball to left field by Ethan Sierra. However, solid pitching from Goleta’s Jase Hooper put out the fire with back-to-back strikeouts.
Goleta found themselves in a hole in the bottom of the second after Fletcher Hills bats found some holes earning a few singles and a double bringing in four runs and giving Fletcher Hills a 5-1 lead.
Fletcher’s star pitcher held Goleta scoreless the next two innings. However, in the top of the 5th, Goleta’s dugout exploded with intensity, understanding they needed to start to mount a comeback right away if they didn’t want their season to end that night.
Cade Venegas started off at the plate and earned a single with a sharply hit ball toward short stop beating out the throw. Ethan Sierra drew a walk, and you could start to feel momentum building as the dugout’s cheering was filled with hope. Benn Hause delivered the hope Goleta needed with a rope to centerfield scoring Venegas and moving Sierra to 3rd base. Nathan Diaz then kept that momentum going with a single to centerfield scoring Sierra and moving Hause to 3rd base. Anders Runquist tapped into Goleta’s momentum by hitting a hard ball to 3rd base earning a single while bringing in Hause and moving Diaz to 3rd base.
With no outs and Diaz being the tying run on 3rd, Goleta could feel the tide changing. The tension in the air was palpable. Fletcher Hills got their first out on a strike out but then Jase Hooper kept the rally going with a perfectly laid bunt, beating it out to first as Nathan Diaz’s speed found him home just before the tag play. The score was now tied with only one out. Liam Anderson was next up and got hit by a pitch thereby loading the bases again. Brooks Caldwell then hit a bomb to centerfield that was caught, but it allowed Runquist to tag up and score from 3rd base giving Goleta the lead again (6-5). Fletcher Hills finally got out of the inning with a strike out and you could feel the tide had completely turned toward Goleta.
Brooks Caldwell, who had taken over pitching duties for Goleta since the bottom third of the second inning, had been managing the game well from the mound not allowing any runs in the third and fourth innings. However, in the bottom of the fifth, Fletcher Hills found their bats again and earned three singles and a double, scoring three runs and regaining the lead 8-6. However, Caldwell remained composed and knowing he had full support of his defense, he drew a fly out to Quincy Niksto in centerfield, struck out the next batter, and forced a groundout to shortstop Cade Venegas. Caldwell finished off the 5th inning with 81 total pitches striking out two batters and throwing over 50 percent strikes.
Goleta found themselves in the hole again in the top of the 6th. With the game on the line, the team showed their resiliency once again as they refused to quit. After a groundout to start, Luke Brennan drew a walk, and a single from Cade Venegas put Brennan on 3rd base. Ethan Sierra then hit a hard grounder to second base brining in Brennan across the plate to bring the score within one run (7-8). Now with two outs and the game on the line, Benn Hause stepped up to the plate. Not showing any signs of nerves, Hause hammered a double to centerfield, bringing home Venegas and tying the game once more, 8-8. Fletcher Hills closed out the inning with a ground out forcing Goleta into a must hold situation in order to go extra innings.
Luke Brennan took the reigns at pitcher for the bottom of the 6th inning. Fletcher led off with a hit to second baseman but Jase Hooper fielded the ball cleanly getting the out at first base. But Fletcher Hills put Goleta Valley on their toes after two walks put runners in scoring position. Brennan retired one batter in between walks. And so with two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Fletcher’s batter hit a shot to deep right field which Dylan Corlett chased down to close out the bottom of the sixth inning with both teams remaining tied, thereby forcing extra innings.
The seventh inning started with Nathan Diaz being placed on second base per extra inning rules. Anders Runquist started it off for Goleta and hit a hard ball to second base which advanced Diaz to 3rd base while they got the out at first. Goleta then had a strike out leaving the go-ahead run on third with two outs. Jase Hooper answered the call by hitting a hard single to short and beating it out while scoring Diaz. Liam Anderson then stepped up to the plate hoping to keep the two out rally alive. And deliver he did, with a shot to center field in the gap that scored Hooper from first base and Anderson’s speed got him into third safely sliding just under the tag. After a ground out, Goleta would be taking the field looking to close the game out with a two run lead 10-8.
The bottom of the seventh was no less dramatic. FHLL started with their runner on 2nd base who advanced to 3rd base on a wild pitch. The next batter hit a deep ball to right center that Dylan Corlett caught to get the first out, while FHLL’s runner tagged up to score on the play. With no runners on, GVSLL was still up 10-9 with one out. Luke Brennan took a breath on the mound and shut down the next batter with a strike out. And with one final batter left in GVSLL’s way, Luke Brennan again calmly handled things from the mound retiring the batter and closing out the game to seal the 10-9 comeback win for GVSLL. Brennan finished the game with 37 total pitches allowing no runs and no hits while striking out three batters in his two innings pitched.
GVSLL now advances to their next game being played Wednesday evening back at Port Hueneme Little League field against the loser from tonight’s matchup between Aliso Viejo LL and Eastvale LL.
The GVSLL 11U All-Star Team includes Liam Anderson, Rafael Berumen, Luke Brennan, Brooks Caldwell, Dylan Corlett, Nathan Diaz, Benn Hause, Jase Hooper, Quincy Niksto, Anders Runquist, Ethan Sierra and Cade Venegas.
The team is managed by Bryan Corlett, with assistant coaches Evan Hause and Jacob Niksto.
