HOLLISTER — If walks are as good as hits, Manteca Babe Ruth’s 15-year-old all-stars proved that to be true in their 4-2 victory over Tracy Monday in the District 1 Tournament.
Joshua Bonds accounted for the team’s only hit, but Manteca walked nine times while taking advantage of Tracy’s defensive miscues, passed balls and wild pitches. Bonds was also hit by a pitch.
Heads-up base running, a solid combined pitching performance from Brock Swift and Zac Carrillo and good defensive play did the trick for Manteca, which faces Lodi in the consolation-bracket semifinal tonight at 6.
“They have good pitching, but they’ll either strike you out or walk you,” Manteca manager Tom McGregor said. “We pitched well and played excellent defense, and that’s what kept us in the game. It was just a matter of getting runners on and moving them.”
It didn’t look good for Manteca at the start, as Tracy’s Keifer Fivert drove in the first runs with a single in the bottom of the first. Tracy held the lead until the fifth but never reached third base again.
Swift labored through four innings but got the job done in his start, striking out four while scattering five hits. Carrillo, the winning pitcher, gave up no runs, one hit and fanned two over the final three frames.
Anthony Louie walked and later scored on Kevin Peck’s sacrifice fly to slice the deficit in half in the top of the fifth.
Manteca took the lead for good in the sixth. Ronnie Limas walked and scored on a wild pitch for the tying run, and Peck’s sharp grounder that was misplayed by the third baseman sent in Bryson Stonum (reached on error) and Zach Menasco (walked).
Defending state champion San Benito, the tournament host, defeated Lodi 11-2 in the winner’s bracket semifinal Monday. San Benito knocked Manteca into the consolation bracket with a 3-2 win in nine innings during Saturday’s opening round.
“We gave (San Benito) a run on Saturday, but we’ve had to take it one game at a time,” McGregor said. “No matter who we face, we’re expecting a tough game tomorrow night.”
— Jonamar Jacinto
