The Santa Barbara Coasters 11U squad captured the Santa Barbara Pumpkin Smash Tournament title in dramatic fashion last weekend in Santa Barbara.
The Coasters went an undefeated 4-0 on the weekend, including back-to-back walk-off wins on Sunday to clinch the championship.
On Saturday, Santa Barbara kicked off the weekend with an 8-5 win over The Lot 11U, where Andrew O’Brien and Jake Wallman each tallied two RBI and Wally Taylor and RJ Hollowell handled the pitching.
Later in the day, the Coasters rolled to an 8-1 win over 101 Nation 11U, thanks in part to three no-hit innings and a 2-for-3 day with three RBI for Brayden Montgomery. Cameron Pierre also went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI.
In the semifinals against the SoCal Victory on Sunday, the Coasters found themselves trailing by three runs with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and final inning.
After Henry Miller doubled and both Montgomery and Hollowell tallied singles, Santa Barbara cut the deficit to one run. Christian Perez then came through in the clutch, lining a shot into the outfield to score two and send the Coasters to the championship.
The championship game followed a similar script, as Santa Barbara was down to Easton Arsenal 11U by two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. This time, however, the Coasters plated two runs to send the game into extra innings.
O’Brien held Easton Arsenal to one run in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for dramatics in the bottom half.
A Makani Gillis single and an intentional walk sparked the rally before Pierre roped a two-run, walk-off double to win the tournament championship.
The 11U Santa Barbara Coasters roster includes Cameron Pierre, Ashton Miller, Henry Miller, RJ Hollowell, Jake Wallman, Wally Taylor, Cristian Perez, Boden Thompson, Makani Gillis, Andrew O’Brien and Brayden Montgomery.
The team is managed by Christoph Pierre with coaches Mike Wallman, Rich Hollowell and Carlos Gillis.