The 15- and 16-year-olds from Cupertino National prevailed 13-7 in a District 44 all-star championship game against neighboring rival Cupertino American on July 17 that turned out to be more like a marathon. The game took so long that it was called an official ballgame after six innings rather than the normal seven innings of play due to darkness.

"I thought this game would never end," said Cupertino National manager Gordon Esquibel. "Cupertino American showed a lot of guts. I had a feeling they would come back."

National jumped out to a three-run lead in the top of the first when leadoff hitter Jarrod Esquibel singled to left and came around to score on a wild pitch two batters later. Dan Cavey grounded out to knock in the second run, and Sam Hedgpeth blooped a single into shallow center to make it 3-0.

American chipped away at the lead in its first at-bat. After Tai Mitchell was hit by a pitch and Jon Huizar reached on an error, the two came around to score on an error and an RBI groundout by Kevin Hsu.

National added two more in the second when Josh Schroeder singled to left to jumpstart the offense. Esquibel then ripped a triple over the American rightfielder's head to score Schroeder. Nick Bertolucci followed with a bunt single that brought home the fleet-footed Esquibel.

National's Jason Dias pitched the only 1-2-3 inning of the game in the second to preserve the 5-2 lead and set the tone for the National offense to break the game open. Andrew Pau led off with a seeing-eye single to left. Hedgpeth then executed a perfect hit and run by knocking a high fastball through the vacated second base position for an easy single. Shane Barclay followed by bunting for a base hit that scored Pau.

"We worked hard on our bunting last week," said coach Esquibel. "Sometimes you need to play small ball to win."

Nick Burrow continued the small ball success by chopping one through the middle to score Hedgpeth and Barclay. After advancing on a wild pitch, Burrow scored on a slow groundball that Schroeder fisted down the third base line. Dias helped his own cause by lacing a two-run triple to right-center that probably would have been a home run had there been a fence in place.

When the dust had finally cleared, National had sent 12 men to the plate and put a seven-spot on the scoreboard. Nevertheless, American would immediately battle back from the 12-2 deficit.

Mitchell and Huizar started things off again for American with a walk and a double and would later score on an error and a wild pitch. Tim Maag then made it 12-5 with an RBI single down the third base line.

American's Mike Reid pitched a scoreless fourth inning to quiet the National bats. American added a run in the bottom of the frame when Huizar crushed a ball to left-center that rolled under a fence 450-feet away for a ground-rule double.

National capped its scoring in the sixth when Esquibel singled to left to bring home Jason Plank. In the bottom half of the sixth, Mitchell and Huizar started a two-out American rally by drawing consecutive walks.

But as the game eclipsed 8:30 p.m., the infield sprinklers started watering the field, prompting a five-minute delay. After the sprinklers were finally turned off, American's Chris Patterson lined an RBI double to make it 13-7.

"I am nervous the whole time," said coach Esquibel. "I never put bats away or anything like that. I am always thinking about what to do next."

As it turned out, darkness would be the deciding factor in easing Esquibel's nerves. The umpires ruled that is was too dark to continue playing after the sixth inning, which triggered the celebration on National's side.

Jarrod Esquibel led National's offensive outburst by reaching base five times and going 4 for 4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Esquibel also contributed in center field with a sparkling diving catch running in and to his right to rob American's Mike Thurman of a double in the sixth.

Huizar led American by reaching base four times and going 2 for 3 with two doubles.

"We play all phases of the game well," said coach Esquibel. "We have deep pitching, we hit the ball well and have great speed. Plus, these kids love the game, and that's what makes them winners."