Tassajara Valley All Stars Overpower Pleasanton

The Star: Tassajara’s win was undoubtedly a team effort, but Jack Maloon stood out as the team’s leader at the plate and on the mound. Maloon hit two two-run homers and led his team with 5 RBIs, while only allowing one run in two and 2/3 innings pitched.

The Turning Point: Pleasanton stayed neck and neck with Tassajara for most of the game, trailing by only one run after four innings. But in the top of the fifth, Tassajara’s offense exploded with four runs, giving the team the edge needed to defeat Pleasanton.

The Quote: "We can’t leave that many people on base," said Pleasanton coach Todd Norton. "If we turned some of those into runs, it’d be a different game. We couldn’t string together the hits when we needed them."

What's next? This is Pleasanton’s first loss in the District 57 All Star Tournament, meaning the team drops to the elimination bracket to face Danville today at 5:30 p.m. Having made it through the tournament undefeated, Tassajara has earned its spot in the Tournament Finals, and will face the winner of the Danville-Pleasanton game on Friday at 6:00 p.m.

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The 12-year-old Pleasanton National all stars earned plenty of hits Wednesday night, but it was the team’s inability to take advantage of runners in scoring position that resulted in an 11-4 defeat at the hands of Tassajara Valley.

Pleasanton left the bases loaded in both the first and the fifth innings, integral moments when the team needed runs the most, and in total 10 Pleasanton runners were left on base during the game.

"We can’t leave that many people on base," said Pleasanton coach Todd Norton. "If we turned some of those into runs, it’d be a different game. We couldn’t string together the hits when we needed them."

The difference between Tassajara and Pleasanton was the clutch hitting of the former. With only a 4-3 lead after four innings, the Tassajara players knew they needed to put runs on the board on the fifth and they executed perfectly.

Forced to load the bases by intentionally walking captain Jack Maloon, who had already hit two two-run homers, Pleasanton set the stage for Erik Krommenhoek to come through with a big RBI single.

Tassajara went on to score four runs that inning and, in the sixth, batted in another three runs, sealing its victory.

But until the last two innings, Pleasanton gave Tassajara a run for its money.

After Maloon’s two-run homer in the top of the first, Pleasanton’s leadoff hitter Bradley Norton responded with a solo home run of his own. Pitcher Jack Fryer then walked in another run, tying the game at 2-2.

Two scoreless innings preceded another Maloon home run in the fourth, followed by an RBI single from Pleasanton that limited the lead to one run.

“(The players) know every game there’s going to be a time when they’ll have to overcome adversity,” said Tassajara coach Jorge Garratti. “That moment came when Pleasanton tied it up in the first, but the players believed and they worked hard to stay focused and get the win.”

With its defeat, Pleasanton must play again today at 5:30 p.m. against Danville, a team Pleasanton beat 6-3 last Friday. The winner of the match-up will then move on to the District 57 Finals to play against Tassajara on Friday.

If Pleasanton hopes to beat Danville a second time and go on to defeat Tassajara twice to take the championship, Norton knows the team will need perfection.

“We’re going to have to play flawless baseball, minimize errors, and score some runs,” he said.

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Tassajara Valley        2 0 0 2 4 3 - 11 12 2

Pleasanton National   2 0 0 1 1 0 - 4  11 1

Tassajara Valley (ab-r-h) Landman 4-2-3, Hubbard 1-0-0, Fryer 4-3-2, Maloon 4-3-2, Krommenhoek 4-1-1, Cindric 1-0-0, Garratt 1-0-0, McFarlane 3-0-1, Olson 3-1-1, Vanhole 3-1-1, Michalczik 1-0-0, Blackburn 2-0-0, White 3-0-1; Totals 34-11-12.

Pleasanton National (ab-r-h) Norton 4-1-2, Cowick 4-0-0, Albanese 4-0-2, Chinn 4-1-1, Howell 4-1-2, Godi 4-0-0, Ibanez 2-0-0, Cassetti 2-1-2, Moroney 2-0-2, Zerio 1-0-0, Myers 1-0-0, Torquemada 1-0-0; Totals 33-4-11.

Pitching

Tassajara Valley: Fryer 2,1/3 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 K, 2 BB; White 1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 K, 0 BB; Maloon 2,2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 K, 2 BB

Pleasanton National: Cowick 1,2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 H, 4 K, 0 BB; Albanese 2,2/3 IP, 6 R, 6 ER, 7 H, 4 K, 2 BB; Norton 1,1/3 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 K, 0 BB; Ibanez 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 1 HBP.

Batting

2B – Fryer (T), Olson (T), Howell (PN)
HR – 2 Maloon (T), Norton (PN)
RBI – Landman (T), Fryer (T), 5 Maloon (T), Krommenhoek (T), Blackburn (T), Norton (PN), Albanese (PN), Zerio (PN), Moroney (PN)