Manteca Little League’s major A’s are smashing their way through the consolation bracket in the District 67 Tournament of Champions.
They continued to rake Thursday at Neil Hafley School’s Gillen Field, taking advantage of 20 hits, eight walks, five errors and a hit batter en route to a 23-4 drubbing of Lathrop. Manteca faces Tracy National today at Bassi Field in the consolation quarterfinal, while tournament host Northgate squares off with Tracy American in the winner’s bracket semifinal.
Manteca batted around the order in the second and fourth innings, accumulating seven and 11 runs, respectively.
Tyler Paul Wentworth led the charge from the top of the lineup, going 4 for 4 with an RBI double and five runs. Amrit Dehal went 3 for 5 with four run and four RBIs. He could have drove in more runs, but the lefty belted two opposite-field, ground-rule doubles down the third-base line that kept runners at third.
Clean-up batter Garrison Reis also drove in four runs and plated three while going 3 for 4 with two doubles. Reese George (3 for 4, two runs, two RBIs), Josh Dennis (3 for 4, two RBIs, two runs, double), Michael George (2 for 3, two runs, two RBIs) and Bryan Lopez (1 for 1, run, RBI) were also productive from the Nos. 5-8 spots. James Dennis walked in three straight plate appearances before clubbing an RBI double during Manteca’s fourth-inning onslaught. He also scored four runs.
Josh Dennis had one of Manteca’s early highlights, as two throwing errors allowed him to touch them all on one play after hitting a single in the second inning.
Manteca was able to preserve its hurlers, as Wentworth, Dennis, George and Reis each threw no more than 25 pitches.
Jyruz Faustorilla and Shatin Sadhra drove in Lathrop’s first two runs on fielder’s choices in the second and third innings. Lathrop, also the A’s, plated two more in the bottom of the fourth on Kyle Haynes’ two-RBI single up the middle.
Tracy N. 15, SPLL 11
The Nationals of Tracy National pulled away with five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning at Bassi Field.
It was a back-and-forth affair from the start after Steven Aquila drove in the first run of the game to give the Spreckels Park Giants the first lead in the opening frame. Tracy National answered with a five-run outburst in the bottom half and scored four more to lead 9-5 after two.
The Giants pieced together three-run rallies in the third and fourth innings to lead for the last time. Adrian Rios went 2 for 4 with a double and three runs to lead Spreckels Park. No. 9 batter Caleb Perales highlighted the fourth with a bases-clearing triple.
