Fearless Falcons: Foothill staves off fierce Dublin comeback, walks off Gaels in EBAL thriller

PLEASANTON Facing a full count with the bases loaded and the battle tied Foothill s Grant Hoenninger stood at the plate cool and collected in the home half of the seventh inning Friday He was for on the day with a walk Dublin needed an out to force extra innings but Hoenninger was up to the challenge As Dublin s final pitch fell into the catcher s glove the crowd at Foothill s baseball field held its breath as it waited for the call The home plate umpire stood and didn t make any motion the walk forcing in a run that gave Foothill a wild - mastery in East Bay Athletic League play Despite giving up seven runs in the fifth inning to squander a - lead Foothill gritted out a win to avenge a one-run loss to the Gaels two days earlier Foothill s Grant Hoenninger is mobbed by teammates after their walk-off walk against Dublin High in a baseball event at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Landon Comerford scored the game-winning run when Hoenninger was walked on a - count Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group We needed this tournament so bad disclosed senior Landon Comerford who scored the winning run Giving up a seven-run inning was tough and we battled through it like we expected We just relied on every single one of us to produce I love these guys man For Dublin the contest was its third in four days The Gaels - - gutted out a comeback win over Livermore on Tuesday and edged Foothill on Wednesday Dublin coach Greg Oravetz revealed he was proud of the way his players battled Friday They re a very resilient organization Oravetz disclosed They re a family and they play really hard for each other I was not surprised at all to see them come back Early on it looked as if Foothill - - was going to run away with the event Comerford hit a triple down the right field line in the first inning that scored seniors Jack Fowler and Ryan Wescott to put the Falcons in front - Foothill added two more runs before the inning ended to knock out Dublin s starting pitcher On defense Foothill looked dominant through four innings Starting pitcher Take Sato-Kreis scattered four hits in that span and Dublin never had a runner in scoring position Foothill pitcher Take Sato-Kreis throws against Dublin High in the third inning of a baseball challenge at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group But the Gales flipped the script in the fifth Dublin scored its first run on an error that brought home Ryan Gonzalez from third In the next at-bat sophomore Matthew Phelps doubled to center field knocking in Daniel Ureno and Kolby Breining Later in the inning the Gaels took their first lead when UC Davis commit Elijah McNeal blasted a two-run homer well past the left field wall to make it - The Gaels ended the inning with a - lead We hit a lot of hard balls at people in that inning Oravetz noted Sure enough we uncovered certain holes Dublin s Elijah McNeal heads home after hitting a two-run homer against Foothill High in the fifth inning of a baseball tournament at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Related Articles Prep spotlight St Francis No on field and in dugout Granada treks to North Carolina High school baseball rankings April Bay Area News Group Top Prep roundup Jasir Rencher flips commitment to Washington from Texas A M Livermore Stampede rolls on With aid of early error Bellarmine edges St Ignatius in tight WCAL pitchers duel Prep roundup Dublin comes up clutch to capture Alhambra Easter Tournament title Foothill was far from done In the bottom of the fifth senior third baseman Tanner Tarpley crushed a solo home run to left-center field to cut the deficit to - That was still the outcome when the Falcons came to bat in the seventh The first two Foothill batters walked and a sacrifice advanced Dylan Souza to third and Eli Davidson to second with no outs A sacrifice fly to center field scored Souza to pull the Falcons to withing - Later freshman Aiden Tavares walked with the bases loaded to tie the championship That s when Hoenninger stepped up to the plate and won the encounter for Foothill Hoenninger who is hitting this season swung at two pitches high in the strike zone to fall behind in the count - Still the senior stayed person Foothill s Tanner Tarpley hits a sacrifice fly against Dublin High in the seventh inning of a baseball championship at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group He took three pitches on the outside of the zone to draw the walk that ended the match Coach gave me a good contest plan I was just trying to put the ball in play and make something happen Hoenninger reported It doesn t get any easier for Foothill next week as the Falcons play defending North Coast Section and NorCal champ Granada in a crucial two-game series We control our own destiny right now We win ball games we ll be in the league playoffs Foothill coach Zeke Palma declared This win changes the whole perspective of our season Dublin s Matthew Phelps makes a catch for an out on a line drive by Foothill s Grant Hoenninger in the fourth inning of a baseball meeting at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Dublin pitcher Kaleb McElmurry throws against Foothill High in the third inning of a baseball competition at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Dublin s Kolby Breining is caught in a rundown by Foothill s Ryan Wescott in the third inning of a baseball tournament at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Foothill s Landon Comerford is out at second by Dublin s Brendan Moddelmog in the fourth inning of a baseball match at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Foothill s Hudson Flora steals second base ahead of Dublin s Elijah McNeal in the third inning of a baseball contest at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Foothill s Hudson Flora steals second base ahead of Dublin s Elijah McNeal in the third inning of a baseball competition at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Dublin s Matthew Phelps celebrates his RBI double against Foothill High in the fifth inning of a baseball meeting at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Foothill s Dylan Souza tags out Dublin s Elijah McNeal during a rundown in the sixth inning of a baseball event at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Dublin s Matthew Phelps is safe at second as Foothill s Dylan Souza can t make the catch for a tag in the sixth inning of a baseball encounter at Foothill High School in Pleasanton Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group