Hamilton Scores 10 Unanswered Runs to Defeat #10 O'Connor to Advance to 6A Semifinal

Saturday night at Diablo Stadium saw the Hamilton Huskies take down the Sandra Day O’Connor Eagles 11-7. 

For a majority of the game, it looked like the Eagles were going to run away with the game.

Starting the game, O’Connor would bunt the ball to help get runners on base. 

The first run of the game saw senior designated hitter Tommy Pascanu bunt the ball and allow senior outfielder Brent Sollars to score. 

The Eagles would then score two more runs in the top of the first inning. 

Junior third baseman Clayton Sheets hit a sac fly, so junior outfielder Mikey Gyde could score. 

Then junior infielder Chase Waterbury hits an RBI double to allow Pascanu to reach home plate.  

The Eagles got out to a soaring start as they shut down Hamilton on the offensive side as well and led 3-0 after the first inning. 

In the second inning, the Eagles were able to add to the lead. 

Leading off the second inning, sophomore catcher Jameson Mohler hit a triple. 

Senior infielder Mikey Leslie would then sub in for him to run and would end up scoring. 

It would then take until the fourth inning for there to be another score in the contest. 

The Eagles added to their lead once more as Sollars hit an RBI single.

Scoring the run was senior outfielder Gio Boncore-Montoya, the younger brother of Utah State WR Nikko Boncore-Montoya.

After leaving runners stranded in the first three innings, Hamilton was finally able to put a run up on the board in the bottom of the fourth. 

Allowing the Huskies to get on the board was junior infielder Alex Wells, as he hit a ball to deep center field for a sac fly.

The run was scored by junior outfielder Gavin Hamilton. 

At the top of the fifth inning, it seemed as though the Eagles pulled away too far for Hamilton to come back from. 

The Eagles would end up with their largest lead of the night. 

First baseman Jaylen Jimenez hit a two-RBI double to extend the Eagles' lead to 7-1. 

Reaching home plate off the hit was O’Connor junior infielder Jacoby Noble and Waterbury. 

Even though Hamilton trailed 7-1 late in the game, it would be foolish to ever count them out. 

Hamilton head coach Mike Woods knows the resilience his team has had all season.

“We had three more bites at the apple,” Woods said. “We’re known for comebacks.” 

Comeback is what they would end up doing at Diablo Stadium. 

Getting some juice back into the Huskies was Gavin Hamilton.

He would smash a ball to deep right field for a three RBI Triple for his team and completely change the game. 

The runs would be scored by Hamilton senior third baseman Parker Rahn, senior outfielder Ben Ball, and junior outfielder Cory Wuttke. 

Before the fifth inning was over, Hamilton would keep chipping away at the Eagles' lead. 

Senior catcher Kristopher De Santiago hit a sac fly to deep right field, which allowed Gavin Hamilton to run from third to home for a run. 

Just like that, Hamilton now only trailed 7-5 to O’Connor after five innings. 

Not only were the bats helping the Huskies, but the pitching and defense were too, as they would shut down O’Connor at the top of the sixth inning. 

Then, like they have done many times before this season, they came back down big and took the lead late into the game. 

Santiago took the at-bat that gave Hamilton the lead.

Santiago drilled a ball to left field between the gaps to get a two RBI single and brought Hamilton junior outfielder Landon Kern and Ball to home plate. 

Even though he could’ve gone for the tie, Santiago knew it was now or never for his team.

“Going into that approach, I could do a simple job and score a run and tie it up or do the big job and get us the lead there,” Santiago said. “It was big for the team.” 

Holding an 8-7 lead wasn’t good enough for Hamilton as they rode the momentum and added cushion to the lead. 

Adding to the lead and having one of the best hits of the night was Hamilton senior first baseman Tyler Nelson, as he smashed a ball around 410 feet to center field for a three RBI double. 

The monster hit to center field allowed Wells, Santiago, and Gavin Hamilton to score. 

Now heading into the seventh inning, the Huskies had an 11-7 lead and all the momentum in the world. 

Hamilton proceeded to get three quick outs and secure the 11-7 win over O’Connor and move on in the 6A playoffs. 

If there is one thing teams should be scared of when they face Hamilton is that they never give up.

“We don’t give up,” Santiago said. “As long as it is us, we know we’re gonna go out there and try to score. That’s what we do.” 

The Huskies now will play the winner of O’Connor and Casteel Friday night. 

At this point in the bracket, every team is a heavy hitter, and Hamilton is ready for the challenge. 

“It's never gonna be easy, and you gotta play seven full innings,” Woods said. “Control what you can control. You gotta be able to take some punches, and we took some early. It worked out well for us.”

Next up: Hamilton advances to the 6A semifinals next Friday. O’Connor takes on #2 Casteel in an elimination game on Tuesday. The winner of O'Connor/Casteel will have to defeat Hamilton twice in a row to advance to the 6A title game.