San Ramon 10s Defeat Tassajara, Win District Championship

The Star: With runners on first and second, one out, and Tassajara threatening to tie or take the lead in the bottom of the fifth, Jack Hinds came into the game as a relief pitcher. Cool under pressure, Hinds got the last two outs without any more runs scoring, ensuring San Ramon’s victory.

The Turning Point: With Tassajara down by only one run after five innings, San Ramon knew it needed to put runs on the board in the top of the sixth. With big hits from Andrew Meyer, Jack Hinds, and Jake Benno, the offense batted through the order and scored six runs.

The Quote: “We knew the games against Tassajara would be tough,” said San Ramon coach Todd Meyer. “We talked about when there’s adversity to remain calm and make the next play.”

What's next? San Ramon will represent District 57 in the NorCal Section 3 competition beginning July 17 at Los Cerros Middle School.

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Coming through with big defensive plays and an explosive offense just when they needed, San Ramon’s 10-year-old all stars pulled off a 12-5 victory over Tassajara Valley Friday night to win the District 57 Championship.

Despite what the final score suggests, Friday’s game was the closest match San Ramon had in the district tournament.

Though San Ramon went ahead early, Tassajara battled back, slowly chipping away at the lead.

A single by Ryder Martin in the fifth inning, followed by two RBI doubles from Keaton Littlefield and Cole Tom put the score at 6-5, with Tassajara threatening to tie or take the lead.

With runners on first and second and only one out, San Ramon coach Todd Meyer replaced pitcher Brendan Schooley with Jack Hinds.

After striking out the first batter he faced, Hinds gave up a single to Beau Garratt that loaded the bases. But with help from second baseman Sam Keller, Hinds got the groundout to end the inning and maintain San Ramon’s slim lead.

“He came up huge,” said Meyer. “I put him in a tough situation and he did a great job of getting out of the fifth and then finishing off things in the sixth.”

After escaping from the fifth, San Ramon’s offense exploded in the top of the sixth. Andrew Meyer’s two-run double, Hinds’s RBI single, and Jake Benno’s RBI groundout aided in San Ramon scoring six runs to seal the win.

Though Tassajara had succeeded in slowly cutting away at San Ramon’s lead, the team passed up multiple opportunities to put up more runs.

For four consecutive innings, from the second to the fifth, Tassajara’s offense left the bases loaded thanks to clutch pitching by San Ramon. In totally 15 Tassajara runners were left on base.

“We were one big hit away from really swinging the game back in our favor,” said Tassajara coach Larry Van Steenhuyse.

Though San Ramon’s pitchers got the outs when needed, players were struggling at the mound for both sides.

San Ramon’s three first-inning runs were walked in by Tassajara, as was Tassajara’s one run in the third.

“It was the end of a two-week tournament and it looked like arms for both sides were a little bit tired,” said Meyer.

as well, and both teams knew the championship game would be close.

Van Steenhuyse said it was no surprise San Ramon made it to the finals and both sides demonstrated that the right teams had made it to the championship match.

As winners of District 57, San Ramon will advance to the NorCal Section 3 competition, playing its first game July 17 at Los Cerros Middle School.

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Inning              1    2    3    4    5    6         R   H   E
San Ramon       3    0    3    0    0    6        12  13  1
Tassajara          1    0    1    1    2    0         5   9    2