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Luca Auer was a tad nervous. He realized he’d be batting with the chance to drive in the go-ahead runs.
As he strode to the plate, Auer started thinking about his teammates, the guys who worked so hard in helping the Menlo-Atherton 11-12 all-star baseball team get to this point.
“I was definitely nervous,” Auer said. “No one was saying anything but I knew I had to put the team on my back.”
The 2-1 delivery was a little high and outside but Auer put a good swing on it and drove the ball into the right-center field gap. It seemed to stay up and the San Mateo National center fielder had a chance to make a great catch.
“I felt like I barreled it up,” Auer said. “But I also thought it was going to get caught.”
Auer’s drive just eluded the outfielder and it bounced up against the fence as two runs scored and Auer slid into second base, giving Menlo-Atherton an improbable 7-6 victory Sunday in the District 52 11-12 All-Star Tournament at Middlefield Park in Palo Alto.
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June 27, 2021, Palo Alto. Jack Leeper pitched 3 2/3 quality innings of relief, allowing M-A to rally. Photo by Rick Eymer. -
June 27, 2021, Palo Alto. Max Brubacher pitched a perfect sixth to record a save. Photo by Rick Eymer. -
June 27, 2021, Palo Alto. Elijah Vu appears to be giving directions on the basepaths. It worked. He scored the tying run in Menlo-Atherton’s 7-6 win. Photo by Rick Eymer. -
June 27, 2021, Palo Alto. Luca Auer delivers a two-run double. Photo by Rick Eymer. -
June 27, 2021, Palo Alto. M-A players celebrate near the mound. Photo by Rick Eymer.
“I was so hyped up,” Auer said. “I could feel my heart pounding and I heard all the noise.”
The fifth-inning double put M-A ahead but a dangerous SM National lineup still had two more at bats and they already showed they could score runs in bunches.
That’s where Jack Leeper and Max Brubacher came in. When Leeper took the ball with one out in the second inning, San Mateo already led, 5-0. A couple of mistakes allowed San Mateo to add a run before Leeper retired 10 of the next 12 batters he faced, five on strikeouts.
Brubacher took the mound for the final inning and pounded the strike zone, getting two strikeouts and infield grounder to end the game and allowing M-A players to celebrate at the mound.
Merrick Lee, who hit a home run in Saturday’s win over Palo Alto, sparked the four-run winning rally with a leadoff single. Brubacher also singled and pinch hitter Will Clark beat out an infield hit to load the bases.
Elijah Vu drove in one run on a fielder’s choice and another run scored on an error. Two outs later, pinch hitter Luke Brodeur singled on an 0-2 pitch to give Auer his chance.
“We were all down,” said Auer, who will be an eighth-grader at Hillview in the fall. “The first and second innings were horrible. We still kept up a lot of energy and for the rest of the game we were perfect.”
Menlo-Atherton plays either San Carlos or Foster City at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the winner’s bracket.
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