Hollister baseball comes up short in late rally 

Editor’s note: This article was corrected to correctly state St. Francis High is from Watsonville. Lea este artículo en español aquí.

The Hollister High baseball team’s five-game winning streak ended with a 5-4 loss to Watsonville’s St. Francis High School Sharks on March 25. 

Sophomore catcher Donovan Price, who came into the game in the fifth, had an opportunity for a walk-off in the bottom of the seventh inning after the Balers loaded the bases with one out. Unfortunately for Hollister, he hit into a double play to end the game. 

“Our guys did a great job coming back,” Hollister coach Michael Luna said, “getting within one run.” 

The Balers, who had taken a 2-0 lead through four innings, had multiple opportunities to score but could not capitalize. 

In the first inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, senior left fielder Daniel Martinez hit a fly ball to left field for an out. Hollister earned its first run on the previous at bat when junior shortstop Braydon Barone drove one in with a walk.

Hollister faced a better opportunity to score in the next inning when catcher Gavin Rodriguez singled to center field to load the bases with one out. The next two batters struck out and hit a fly ball to center field, respectively. 

The Balers loaded the bases twice in the fourth inning. With one out, infielder Evan Mendoza drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. The next batter, Barone, was hit by a pitch to load the bases for senior third baseman Jake Esparza, who popped out to first base to end the inning.

“We were just one hit away in a number of innings to score more runs but we were just unfortunate,” Luna said. 

After going down 5-2 in the top of the fifth, Hollister loaded the bases once again in a two-out rally. Sophomore catcher Donovan Price, who came into the game in the fifth inning, hit a ball to left field. It originally looked like the left fielder caught the ball sliding but the ball immediately popped out of his glove, allowing two runners to cross home plate. Mendoza popped out to first base to end the threat.

“We’re a gritty team,” starting pitcher Trenton Roach said. “We’re never going to give up no matter what the situation we’re in.”

On the mound for the Balers, Roach pitched four shutout innings allowing two hits and striking out nine. The only trouble he faced was in the third inning when he had runners on first and second with no outs and responded by striking out two and inducing a pop-up to second base.

“That’s what you expect from him, a guy who is a Division 1 pitcher and he’s just getting better,” Luna said. 

Luna said he took Roach out of the game because of his pitch count—the senior committed in 2024 to play next year for Cal. He said he will increase Roach’s pitch count limit as the season progresses.

Roach said he relied on his control of the fastball to make up for other pitches that were not working. 

The Sharks took advantage of the pitching change in the fifth inning to tied the game with back-to-back doubles off senior left-hander Drew Gastelum. After the second double, Luna brought in Mendoza, who gave up a single before the home run to center field that proved to be the difference in the game. 

“Our pitchers couldn’t locate their pitches and they took advantage by hitting some fastballs, and ended up scoring five runs,” Luna said. 

This was Hollister’s first loss in league play. Their record is now 4-1 in league and 7-3 overall. 

The Balers can end the Sharks’ four-game winning streak as they are scheduled to meet again March 28 in Mountain View.

BenitoLink thanks our underwriter, Hollister Rotary, for helping expand the sports coverage around San Benito County. Rotary is a nonprofit organization that conducts humanitarian projects, encourages high ethical standards, and works toward world understanding. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.