TRACY — The lead changed hands seven times in the Little League District 67 8-10-year-old All-Star Tournament semifinal Friday at Legacy Fields, and it was a beanball that ultimately decided it.
Tracy American moves on to the championship round after James Isler was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, clinching a thrilling 16-15 victory over Northgate. Izach Brewer (3 for 5, four runs) earlier plated the tying run on a throwing error. He started the winning rally with a single to right.
The last three leagues standing in the division are the same ones that made it to this point two weeks ago in the district’s Tournament of Champions, which was won by the Northgate Red Sox after they were knocked into the consolation bracket following a loss to the Tracy American Tigers in the winners-bracket semifinal.
The Northgate all-stars and Manteca will vie for the other spot in the final today at 1 p.m.
In a game with wild momentum swings, Northgate did well to overcome an early 6-2 deficit. Both starting pitchers were knocked out of the game in the opening inning.
Northgate took a 7-6 lead in the top of the third on RBI hits from Christian Jose and Kenji Time and a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Aden Rosas. Tine ended up reaching in all five of his plate appearances and scored three runs, while Rosas finished 3 for 5 with four runs and three RBIs.
Tracy American took the lead back in the bottom half with Alfonzo Silveira’s two-run inside-the-park homer.
In the fifth, Vincent Sanchez sparked a six-run, five-hit barrage with a leadoff single for Northgate, which staked a 13-8 advantage. Rosas highlighted the rally with a two-run single up the middle, and Oteri followed with his own RBI hit.
Tracy American was again quick to respond, this time with a six-run onslaught in the bottom of the fifth jump started by Tyler Manzeck’s leadoff triple. Brayden Vierra knocked in the go-ahead run with a double, making it 14-13.
J.P. Abrew, who earlier had an RBI single, was in line for the win after getting Northgate out of the bottom of the fifth with one pitch. Northgate committed three errors in the inning after going the first four without a mistake, even turning a 5-4-3 double play in the second.
Northgate recaptured the lead for the final time in the sixth, getting a one-out, two-run triple from Anthony Oteri (2 for 4, three RBIs). He was left stranded on third as Silveira, the fourth pitcher used by Tracy American, induced two infield pop-ups.
Silveira was 2 for 4 with a double, three runs and three RBIs for Tracy American. Isaic Ostofich contributed a triple. Northgate’s Koa Rodrigues contributed two hits and two runs. Jaime Fernandez reached twice in both of his plate appearances in the fifth inning, going 1 for 1 with a walk, a run and an RBI.

Manteca 20, Spreckels Park 15 (5)
Manteca erupted for 10 runs to stake a 16-7 lead in the fourth inning of the consolation-bracket quarterfinal that ended in the top of the sixth inning because of darkness.
Jayden Pimental batted twice in that staggering rally before Spreckels Park was able to muster an out. He pounded a triple and scored twice. Seth Spetter also legged out a triple and had a double during Manteca’s five-run third.
Overall, Dane Williams, Cole Martin, Luis Rivera III (double) and Pimental plated three runs apiece. Brixton Menchaca-Ortiz and Brayden Hartt each chipped in a double. Logan Tyler reached on all four of his plate appearances, including a triple.
Jackson Fay (two runs, double, walk, HBP) and James Burns (triple, three runs, walk) both went 3 for 3 to pace Spreckels Park. Maddox Morales doubled and scored.