Pleasanton Foothill All Stars Suffer Early Loss in District Tournament

The Star: San Ramon relied on a strong performance from starting pitcher Andrew Meyer, who was active on the mound and at the plate. Meyer finished with six strikeouts in his three innings pitched, and hit three doubles.

The Turning Point: San Ramon started out strong and had a comfortable 9-1 lead at the end of the third. But a smashing three-run homer from first baseman Jack Jones in the beginning of the fourth inning sealed the victory and began a 10-run rally for San Ramon.

The Quote: "We underperformed, but we appreciate how good the other team was today," said Pleasanton Foothill coach Steve Chipman. "We're looking to play up to our expectations, which are much higher than today's outcome."

What's next? With its win, San Ramon moves on to face Canyon Creek on Sunday in the second round of the District 57 All Star Tournament. Pleasanton Foothill moves to the tournament’s elimination bracket and will play Tuesday.

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It was a struggle for the 10-year-old Pleasanton Foothill All Star team from the first pitch of the game against San Ramon. Overpowered by the San Ramon batters and unable to consistently get on base, Pleasanton lost 19-2 on Saturday in the first round of the District 57 All Star Tournament.

San Ramon wasted no time getting on the board, taking a 3-0 lead after the first inning. A six-run third inning led into a 10-run fourth, solidifying the victory.

"We talk a lot about quality at-bats," said San Ramon coach Todd Meyer. "We get every player to step up to the plate thinking about hitting a line drive, and they all executed outstandingly today."

The two biggest hits of the day came in the fourth inning with a three-run homer from Jack Jones and a two-run homer from Luke Rocha off of Pleasanton pitcher Jeremy Lea.

Despite putting three different pitchers on the mound in the fourth, Pleasanton was unable to stop the San Ramon hitters from putting the ball in play.

Conversely, starting pitcher Andrew Meyer set the tone for San Ramon's defense when he struck out the first two batters of the game. Meyer, earning six strikeouts, allowed only one hit and one run during his three innings on the mound.

"I tried to stay confident and get ahead in the count early," he said.

Apart from taking charge of the San Ramon defense, Meyer also did his part at the plate, scoring all four times he came up to bat and hitting two doubles.

Pleasanton's loss was a disappointing start to the district tournament, but after the game coach Steve Chipman encouraged his players to put their best effort in next round.

"We underperformed, but we appreciate how good the other team was today," he said. "We're looking to play up to our expectations, which are much higher than today's outcome."

Pleasanton Foothill, now relegated to the elimination bracket, still has a chance to make it to the finals, but the team will have to win all of their remaining matches.

With its crushing victory, San Ramon moves on to the second round of the tournament, facing Canyon Creek on Sunday.

Coach Meyer stressed to his players the importance of continuing to play at their highest level.

"We have to understand that the score of tomorrow's game starts at zero-zero," he said. "We just need to play San Ramon baseball, and we'll be fine."

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San Ramon     3 0 6 10 X X - 19 14 2

Pleasanton Foothill    0 1 0 1 X X - 2 3 1

San Ramon (ab-r-h) Schooley 4-2-1, Coulson 4-3-2, Meyer 4-4-3, Hinds 4-2-2, Jones 4-1-2, Ruschell 4-2-0, Benno 1-0-0, Williams 3-1-1, Keller 2-1-1, Rocha 2-2-1, Portoni 1-1-1; Totals 33-19-14.

Pleasanton Foothill (ab-r-h) Camp 2-0-0, Robinson 2-0-0, Lea 2-0-0, Skerl 2-2-1, Derham 2-0-1, Koul 1-0-1, Tupina 1-0-0, Chipman 2-0-0, Cristwell 2-0-0, Narciso 1-0-0, Maas 1-0-0; Totals 18-2-3.

Pitching

San Ramon: Meyer 3 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 6 K, 1 BB; Ruschell 1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 K, 0 BB.

Pleasanton Foothill: Cristwell 2,2/3 IP, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 H, 0 K, 3 BB; Lea 2/3 IP, 8 R, 8 ER, 7 H, 0 K, 1 BB, 1 HBP; Derham 1/3 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 2 BB; Camp 1/3 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 K, 0 BB.

Batting

2B - Schooley (SR), 2 Meyer (SR), Hinds (SR), Skerl (PF)
HR – Jones (SR), Rocha (SR)
RBI - 2 Schooley (SR), Coulson (SR), Meyer (SR), 3 Hinds (SR), 4 Jones (SR), 2 Rocha (SR), Williams (SR), Derham (PF), Koul (PF)