Spreckels Park pitcher Jacob Martinez Jr. twirled a complete-game four-hit shutout Wednesday, at one point retiring nine Northgate batters in a row as Spreckels Park won 2-0 in the championship game of the District 67 Junior League All-Star Tournament at Agostini Field.
“I feel good,” Spreckels Park coach Jacob Martinez Sr. said. “The boys played hard and we battled back. Jacob (Martinez Jr.) pitched a heck of a game. I am an excited father and a coach.
“We have a great staff and Northgate has a great program. They are a heck of a team.”
Sonny Elder reached on a two-out error for Spreckels Park in the bottom of the first. He stole second and scampered home on a single back up the middle by Martinez Jr. (two RBI) for a 1-0 lead.
Blake Fonseca led off the Spreckels Park third by beating out a single to shortstop. He was awarded second on a balk, took third on a flyball to center by Elder and beat a throw home on a grounder by Martinez Jr. to bump the score to 2-0.
Martinez Jr. struck out seven against just one walk and just four Northgate players made it into scoring position with two of those four coming in the last inning.
Jacob Toste walked for Northgate in the first inning and was sent to third on a two-out double by Austin Orr. Martinez Jr. got out of that jam with a strikeout.
In the Northgate seventh Nate Rodriguez was hit by a pitch, got to second on Benny Slaughter’s single with a wild pitch putting runners on second and third with one out. Martinez. Jr. induced a flyout to left and a groundout to third on the next two batters to end the game just as he reached his maximum pitch count.
Spreckels Park right fielder Jackson Brunn had a hand in keeping Northgate to three up, three down in the second inning.
Damien Gonzalez led off the Northgate second with a hard shot to the right-center gap that looked like it would be a double. Brunn chased it down and got a remarkable throw into second that held Gonzalez to a single.
That set up a 4-6-3 double play from Fonseca to Zach Fonseca to Jakob Lopez. Brunn gunned down the next batter at first base to end the inning.
Spreckels Park now advances to the Section Tournament with a date and venue to be announced.
