APTOS — Tysen Espinoza said he was nervous, but he didn’t show it when he wrapped up his monster day at the plate Thursday, which helped Aptos Little League’s 11s All-Stars rally from two deficits to secure a 9-4 win over Hartnell in their Section 5 Tournament opener.
Espinoza hit a three-run triple to spark a six-run sixth inning, and relief pitcher Miles Lee slammed the door shut in the bottom half of the inning to seal a much-celebrated win.
“This what the team is made for,” Espinoza said.
Espinoza finished 3-for-3 batting with five RBI. He also hit a two-run double and scored twice.
“Ice in his veins today,” Aptos manager Tim Reilly said. “That (triple) in the sixth, off the wall. I think they thought it was gone. There’s not a bigger hit that I can remember in a while. That was huge and that just got the lineup going.”
Aptos (5-0), the District 39 champion, will face Thursday’s winner between D-12 champ Lincoln Glen and D-59 champ Santa Teresa in the winner’s bracket final on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Lincoln Glen blanked D-44 champ Sunnyvale 11-0 on Thursday. Sunnyvale and Hartnell play in an elimination game Friday evening.
Aptos, which outscored opponents 49-0 in district play, trailed Hartnell 1-0 after the first inning and 4-3 through four innings.
Aptos rallied for a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth, when Espinoza drove in Lee and Cody Pieracci with his one-out double and scored on KIran Yager’s RBI double.
Ruben Moreno, Henry Wilkinson, and Lawson Scott reached on singles and scored with Espinoza on the mound in middle relief to give Hartnell its final lead. Scott and Sebastian Meza drove in run. An error also contributed to the outburst.
Reilly told his players to keep fighting.
“That’s baseball, right?” he said. “This group, they can buy in. They’ve done it before. This is a good group kids and they’re starting to support each other and get each other’s backs. That’s what I love most about them.”
Cruz Brenner and Koa Richardson opened the sixth with back-to-back hits for Aptos. After Richardson reached on a bunt single, leadoff hitter Ryan Santillan reached on a fielder’s choice that forced out Brenner.
Lee followed with a line out to left field that left outfielder Jacob Gomez patting his heart and exhaling deeply after he made the putout for the second out of the frame. Pieracci drew his third straight walk to load the bases and set the stage for Espinoza.
Espinoza didn’t disappoint. “It was an amazing play,” he said.
The right-handed hitter roped an opposite-field shot off the wall in right field to clear the bases. Aptos’ dugout went bonkers. Yager followed with an RBI double, Beau Pieracci reached on an infield single, and Wyatt Graaskamp drove them both in with an untouched popup behind first base that dropped safely before it spun wildly away from Hartnell’s first and second basemen.
“It was a close game,” Yager said. “Those pitchers were good and we just hit ’em. We always have a lot of energy later in games, especially when we’re down.”
The teams were retired in order a combined three times in 12 opportunities. One of those times came in Hartnell’s final at-bat. Lee, the winning pitcher, induced a pair of fly outs and recorded a strikeout to end the game.
“I don’t have enough good words to say about Miles Lee,” his manager said. “He’s just consistent in just every way of that word. Defensively, offensively, you can put him in those pressure moments and he’ll come in for you. He makes the pitches when you need him to make the pitches, and he makes the plays when you need him to make the plays.”
Nolan McKee started on the mound for Aptos, struck out seven batters over three innings and gave up one unearned run.
“Nolan’s a dynamic pitcher,” Reilly said. “He’s a great kid, throws hard. When he’s on, he’s on. He has been on for us lately. He looks good. For us, it’s kinda next guy up. We’ve got 13 pitchers on this team — 13 kids who can get up on the mound and I’d feel pretty confident with.”
THE SCORE
Aptos 9, Hartnell 4
Up next: Section 5 Tournament winner’s bracket semifinal, Aptos vs. Lincoln Glen-Santa Teresa winner
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: Aptos Little League