PLEASANTON — Facing a full count with the bases loaded and the game tied, Foothill’s Grant Hoenninger stood at the plate cool and collected in the home half of the seventh inning Friday.
He was 0 for 2 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 8-7 victory in East Bay Athletic League play.
Despite giving up seven runs in the fifth inning to squander a 4-0 lead, Foothill gritted out a win to avenge a one-run loss to the Gaels two days earlier.
Foothill’s Grant Hoenninger (13) is mobbed by teammates after their walk-off walk against Dublin High in a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. Landon Comerford scored the game-winning run when Hoenninger was walked on a 3-2 count. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)“We wanted this game so bad,” said 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 game was its third in four days. The Gaels (16-3, 5-3) gutted out a comeback win over Livermore on Tuesday and edged Foothill on Wednesday.
Dublin coach Greg Oravetz said he was proud of the way his players battled Friday.
“They’re a very resilient team,” Oravetz said. “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 (14-4, 4-3) was going to run away with the game.
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 2-0.
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 (8) throws against Dublin High in the third inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (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 5-4.
The Gaels ended the inning with a 7-4 lead.
“We hit a lot of hard balls at people in that inning,” Oravetz said. “Sure enough, we found some holes.”
Dublin’s Elijah McNeal (21) heads home after hitting a two-run homer against Foothill High in the fifth inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)Related Articles
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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 7-5.
That was still the score 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 7-6. Later, freshman Aiden Tavares walked with the bases loaded to tie the game.
That’s when Hoenninger stepped up to the plate and won the game for Foothill. Hoenninger, who is hitting .357 this season, swung at two pitches high in the strike zone to fall behind in the count 1-2.
Still, the senior stayed patient.
Foothill’s Tanner Tarpley (1) hits a sacrifice fly against Dublin High in the seventh inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)He took three pitches on the outside of the zone to draw the walk that ended the game..
“Coach gave me a good game plan. I was just trying to put the ball in play and make something happen,” Hoenninger said.
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 said. “This win changes the whole perspective of our season.”
Dublin’s Matthew Phelps (1) makes a catch for an out on a line drive by Foothill’s Grant Hoenninger (13) in the fourth inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Dublin pitcher Kaleb McElmurry (5) throws against Foothill High in the third inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Dublin’s Kolby Breining (10) is caught in a rundown by Foothill’s Ryan Wescott (4) in the third inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Foothill’s Landon Comerford (10) is out at second by Dublin’s Brendan Moddelmog (35) in the fourth inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Foothill’s Hudson Flora (2) steals second base ahead of Dublin’s Elijah McNeal (21) in the third inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Foothill’s Hudson Flora (2) steals second base ahead of Dublin’s Elijah McNeal (21) in the third inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Dublin’s Matthew Phelps (1) celebrates his RBI double against Foothill High in the fifth inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Foothill’s Dylan Souza (18) tags out Dublin’s Elijah McNeal (21) during a rundown in the sixth inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Dublin’s Matthew Phelps (1) is safe at second as Foothill’s Dylan Souza (18) can’t make the catch for a tag in the sixth inning of a baseball game at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Read More Details
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