The Quito Little League major division all-star team proved it on July 8 in their its 2-1 win over American when the first run was scored off a beautiful bunt by Myles Johansen in the bottom of the second.

Both runs for Quito came in the last of the second when Drew Messer led off the inning with an infield single and reached second when Allen VanDyke laid down a bunt and reached first safely on a throwing error by the catcher. With two runners on and one out, Johansen dropped a textbook bunt, scoring Messer. VanDyke raced to third and Johansen took second with some fine base running. With two runners in scoring position, Stefan Eckhardt hit a ground ball to second base and was thrown out at first, but not before VanDyke came in to score.

Quito had a promising bottom of the first when Eckhardt singled to lead off, but no runs were scored. Anthony Denevi led off the third with a big double and then moved to third on a single by Michael Economy. Ben Collier reached on a fielder's choice that yielded no outs to load the bases. But the American pitcher was able to stand strong and get out of the inning without giving up a run.

Messer started on the hill for Quito and gave up only one hit and struck out three in four innings pitched. In the top of the fifth with two runners on, Denevi took control of the hill and was able to get the outs he needed to end the inning. Denevi pitched the final two innings, giving up only one hit and no runs.

The rest of the Quito roster included Justin Hamilton, Branden Webster, Nathan Gomez, Michael Combs and Dakota Young.

Union 7, Quito 6

It was both a last ditch offensive and defensive effort that allowed Union to escape with a slim 7-6 win over Quito. After allowing Quito to push across two runs in three consecutive innings to tie the score at 6-6 in the fifth, Union was forced to stage a comeback.

Tyler Baronie led the way with a clutch two-out single and then scampered down to second base on a wild pitch. That set the table for Nick Billmaier, who came through by ripping a double to drive in Baronie and give Union the one-run lead with three outs left to play.

Union turned the ball over to Baronie who hurled the final inning to preserve the win. Ryan O'Halloran went the first three innings before giving way to Tyler Lanham, who fired two innings before Baronie took over. It was a solid effort by the trio.

The offensive punch for Union was led by Jacob Pedersen, Baronie and Billmaier each pounding out two hits. Lanham ripped a double and Nick Taylor, O'Halloran and Evan Maynard each banged singles.

Quito pushed across two runs in three consecutive innings to fight back to a 6-6 in the middle of the fifth inning. In the third, hits by Collier and Denevi combined with a couple of walks resulted in two runs. A double by Messer and an infield hit by Collier helped produce two more runs in the fourth. The fifth inning saw a double from Denevi and single by Collier, combined with two hit batsmen, push across the final two runs for Quito.

Saratoga 8, Cambrian 2

Andrew Lee was the big gun for Saratoga in its 8-2 win over Cambrian. Lee stepped to the plate in the sixth inning with two outs and Michael McGinnis and Kyle Miller on base. He got all of one, sending a rocket over the fence for a three-run homer. It gave Saratoga an 8-2 lead and put the game on ice.

After Cambrian had taken a 2-0 lead in the third, Saratoga came roaring back in the top of the fourth. The first four batters blasted singles. Lee got it started with Parker Smith, Grant Thomas and Henry Sprinal following his example. Both Thomas and Sprinal picked up a run-batted-in on their hits. Later in the inning, McGinnis came through with a clutch two-out single to drive in another run and give Saratoga a 4-2 lead.

Cambrian was able to push across its only two runs in the third. Singles by Jason Berticevich and Liam Johnson, plus a sacrifice fly off the bat of Stephen Meade, produced the two scores.

Saratoga 7, Branham Hills 6

Saratoga also took one from Branham Hills 7-6 on July 7, but not without a fight. Bobby Joyce smashed a three-run homer for Branham Hills with Nick Rosetta belting two singles and scoring three runs. Brian Hendrix caught a fast ball and roped it for a double and also knocked a single. Henry Santoro also ripped a double and Nick Fanning had a base hit for Branham Hills.

Despite the efforts of Branham Hills, Saratoga was able to put up one more run. Matt Morales crushed a double and scored two runs with Miller roping a single and a double and coming home safely once. McGinnis added a little with a single and a scored run and Andy Berman was a key bat in the lineup with two singles and two runs scored. Vinny Carstens, Taylor Trah and Smith each added a hit each while Henry Springhall smashed a double in the win.

Almaden South 4, Saratoga 3

Almaden South won one over Saratoga 4-3 on July 5. The win was due to the skill of the Almaden hitters—nine of the 12 players on the team reached base safely at least once in the game.

Gabe Chavez led his team at the plate with a single, a big double and a run scored.

Saratoga was led at the plate by Miller, who singled twice and scored once. Berman singled and scored, McGinnis roped a single and Morales came home safely once.