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GIANTS HAMMER NATS
Home runs spark MLL majors team to playoff win
Bulletin Little League 2018
Brad Eldredge of the Giants reaches for the flyball during a Manteca Little League major-division playoff game against the Nationals. - photo by DAVE CAMPBELL/The Bulletin

The Manteca Little League major Giants belted back-to-back, two-out home runs in the third inning Thursday and scored in every inning but the first as they rolled to a 12-5 win over the Nationals in opening-round playoff action at Lincoln Park.
Chris Chavez (2 for 2, two RBI, triple, two runs) singled to lead off the third for the Giants. Following a strikeout and a fly out, Angelo Cervantez launched one over the center-field fence for a 4-1 Giants lead.
Cade Gemmell came up next and hit his shot to left field to make the score 5-1. Cervantez (two runs) and Gemmell (double, run) were both 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBI.
Both runs in a two-run fourth for the Giants came off the bat of Brad Eldredge (double, three RBI), who hit a two-out, two-RBI double that scored Elisio Cervantez (double, run) and Chavez. In the sixth inning, Chavez scored R.J. Ohara and Ryian Masudi with a two-RBI triple and came in on a groundout by Eldredge to make the score 12-4.
The Giants defense chipped in with double plays in the fourth and fifth innings. The first came on a line drive to first baseman Aiden Lohmann, who fielded the screaming shot and stepped on the bag to double up the runner at first.
In the fifth inning, Renzo Garcia singled in Dylan Stonum (3 for 3, two RBI, double, run) and Isaac Acuna with no outs to bring the Nationals within 9-4, but he was caught in a double play to kill the potential rally.
Still in the fifth, Jayden Pimental was hit by pitch and went to third on Zakery Willson’s double only for the pair to end the inning at second and third when the next batter struck out.
Preston Smith tripled to lead off the third for the Nationals and scored his team’s first run on a seeing-eye single by Stonum to make the score, 2-1.