Santa Maria had been down to its last strike several times in this Thursday championship round. It had survived every time.

Finally Santa Maria's Joe Perez lifted a 3-2 pitch into foul territory beyond the left field line. “Game over!,” a Hanford fan shouted. Zach Raeber made sure it was.

The left fielder raced over and squeezed the ball in his glove to seal Hanford's 5-4 nine-inning win over Santa Maria for the Babe Ruth 13-15 State Tournament championship at Porter Field in the Soto Sports Complex in Arroyo Grande.

Regulation Babe Ruth games are seven innings.

Hanford finished an unbeaten run through the state tournament by beating the defending champ. Hanford won the District 4/5 Tournament, surviving the elimination round. Santa Maria went unbeaten in the District 6 Tournament, defending its title there.

If Santa Maria had won, another game would have determined the state champion. As it was, Hanford earned a berth in the Western Regional Tournament which starts next Friday in El Segundo.

Santa Maria got to the title round with a gutsy run. It won four consecutive elimination games after losing to Bullard of Fresno on opening day.

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Hanford won with little ball in the ninth inning Thursday. Leadoff batter Jacob Colby beat out a chopper in front of home plate, then motored to second base when Santa Maria catcher Joseph Guerrero overthrew first baseman Joseph Garcia.

Tournament MVP Gage Dominguez beat out a well-placed one-out bunt toward third base. Colby went to third. Dalton Silva hit a slow ground ball to Santa Maria second baseman Chad De La Guerra, then hustled down the line.

Santa Maria couldn't quite complete the double play as Silva beat a good throw from shortstop George Reyes after the forceout at second. Colby scored the winning run.

“The little things helped us today,” said Hanford coach Greg Dominguez, Gage's father. “The hit-and-run, moving a runner over with a bunt.”

Gage Dominguez's mound work helped Hanford too.

He baffled the hard-hitting Santa Maria team with his curveball most of the game. He four-hit the home team before leaving for reliever Brandon Putnam, the starting right fielder, with two outs in the last of the seventh. Hanford out-hit Santa Maria 9-4.

“Our coach Matt Souza saw every game in this tournament,” said Greg Dominguez. “He gave us the scouting report on them. We knew they were a good fastball hitting team.”

Gage Dominguez, who turned 16 on the tournament's opening day, said, “My curve had more snap,” when he pitched then. However, “My placement was better today.”

Santa Maria coach Mike Smith said, “He had a good (curve).”

Gage Dominguez got the first two batters out in the last of the seventh, but then walked the bases loaded. Some of his pitches barely missed. Then he left for Putnam.

Perez sent a 2-2 pitch toward the hole between shortstop and third base. The sharp grounder glanced off shortstop Silva's glove for an infield hit and Cody Holguin scored the tying run. Putnam got Alex Grandy to pop out to second baseman Colby, and the game went into extra innings.

The younger Dominguez helped himself out with his glove in the sixth inning after Grandy pulled Santa Maria within 4-3 when his drive one-hopped the left field wall for a ground-rule double. First baseman Justin Wilhite gave the pitcher a big assist too.

Brandyn Bing followed Grandy by stinging one toward the shortstop hole. Dominguez knocked it down and saved a run, though Bing made it to first base. Wilhite, guarding the line, pulled a web gem shortly thereafter.

He dove, knocked down Reyes' hard grounder down the first base line, then stepped on the bag for the last out.

“We finally ran out,” of outs, said Smith. “These boys have played 10 games in the last 12 days. The last thing we needed was extra innings.”

The lead changed hands twice Thursday. Santa Maria went ahead 2-1 with unearned runs in the third inning. An error set up De La Guerra's two-run single.

Hanford went ahead 4-2 in the fifth on Raeber's single, Silva's sacrifice fly against reliever Garcia and Putnam's RBI groundout.

Silva and teammate Jesse Gonzalez both made the All-Tournament Team. So did Garcia and Perez. The rest of the All-Tournament Team consisted of Lucas Dicicco and Matt Nenebury of Bullard; Ricky Garcia of San Benito; and Mark Mendoza of Cotton Belt.

July 18, 2008