Little League All Stars: Tassajara 10s Fall Short of District Championship

The Star: With runners on first and second, one out, and Tassajara threatening to tie or take the lead in the bottom of the fifth, Jack Hinds came into the game as a relief pitcher. Cool under pressure, Hinds got the last two outs without any more runs scoring, ensuring San Ramon’s victory.

The Turning Point: With Tassajara down by only one run after five innings, San Ramon knew it needed to put runs on the board in the top of the sixth. With big hits from Andrew Meyer, Jack Hinds, and Jake Benno, the offense batted through the order and scored six runs.

The Quote: "We got behind early and we clawed our way back," said Tassajara coach Larry Van Steenhuyse. "It was 6-5 going into the sixth inning, and the game just got out of our hands at that point."

What's next? San Ramon will represent District 57 in the NorCal Section 3 competition beginning July 17 at .

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The 10-year-old Tassajara all stars proved themselves to be the toughest opponents for San Ramon in the District 57 Tournament, but still they were unable to pull off a comeback Friday night, falling 12-5 to San Ramon in the championship game.

Despite what the final score suggests, Friday’s game was San Ramon’s closest match all tournament.

“One of the things we demonstrated was that (San Ramon and Tassajara) were the two right teams to be in the finals game,” said coach Larry Van Steenhuyse.

San Ramon went ahead early, but Tassajara — only down by three runs after four innings — was positioned to strike.

A single by Ryder Martin in the fifth inning, followed by two RBI doubles from Keaton Littlefield and Cole Tom put the score at 6-5, with Tassajara threatening to tie or take the lead.

With runners on first and second and only one out, San Ramon coach Todd Meyer replaced pitcher Brenden Schooley with Jack Hinds.

After striking out the first batter he faced, Hinds gave up a single to Beau Garratt that loaded the bases. But with help from second baseman Sam Keller, Hinds got the groundout to end the inning and maintain San Ramon’s slim lead.

“He came up huge,” said Meyer. “I put him in a tough situation and he did a great job of getting out of the fifth and then finishing off things in the sixth.”

After escaping from the fifth, San Ramon’s offense exploded in the top of the sixth. Andrew Meyer’s two-run double, Hinds’s RBI single, and Jake Benno’s RBI groundout aided in San Ramon scoring six runs to seal the win.

"We got behind early and we clawed our way back," said Van Steenhuyse. "It was 6-5 going into the sixth inning, and the game just got out of our hands at that point."

Though Tassajara had succeeded in slowly cutting away at San Ramon’s lead, the team passed up multiple opportunities to put up more runs.

For four consecutive innings, from the second to the fifth, Tassajara’s offense left the bases loaded thanks to clutch pitching by San Ramon. In total 15 Tassajara runners were left on base.

“We were one big hit away from really swinging the game back in our favor,” said Van Steenhuyse.

Though San Ramon’s pitchers got the outs when needed, players were struggling at the mound for both sides.

San Ramon’s three first-inning runs were walked in by Tassajara, as was Tassajara’s one run in the third.

“It was the end of a two-week tournament and it looked like arms for both sides were a little bit tired,” said Meyer.

, and Van Steenhuyse said it was no surprise seeing San Ramon in the finals.

As winners of District 57, San Ramon will advance to the NorCal Section 3 competition, playing its first game July 17 at Los Cerros Middle School.

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Inning                1    2    3    4    5    6         R   H   E
San Ramon         3    0    3    0    0    6        12  13  1
Tassajara            1    0    1    1    2    0         5   9    2