After a first round bye, the 12-year-old Turlock American All-Star team defeated the Yosemite All-Stars, 4-3, on Sunday in Atwater and will be moving on to the semifinal game today.

“It was a great first tough game and it’s good to have them early on and building intensity and confidence into next game,” Turlock American head coach Leon Curtis said.

Cameron Sherwoods’ eight pitch at bat walked in Arik Baine for the game’s first run to make it 1-0. Yosemite followed with three unanswered runs. In the sixth and final inning, the American squad was able to produce three runs of their own which would seal the deal. Baine cracked a two-run jack over the center field wall, driving in Luke Curtis and Case Pacheco came in after a wild pitch to score the game-winner.

“Defense did excellent...when being down they kept their heads in the game and never quit, that’s a sign of a good team. They can close the deficit, but never gave up,” Curtis said about his squad.

Starting pitcher Kaleb Welch tossed 47 pitches and went two innings, walked three and struck out five giving up two runs. Sherwood came in the top of the third and struck out four, walked four, and allowed only one run and three hits.

Turlock National 12-year-olds

Jeremy Plaa’s squad struggled in the first round as the Turlock National 12-year-olds fell to the Los Banos All-Stars on Saturday night, 14-4, at Mariposa.

“We were playing very well into the fourth inning, and they started to hit the ball after that, we lost a lot of momentum. We're up 4-2, went up 6-4, and in the bottom of the fifth they scored eight,” Plaa said.  

The 12-year-old National squad rebounded on Tuesday to defeat the  Yosemite All-Stars 9-7 at Soderquist field.

Turlock National 10-years-olds

Lyle Zimmer’s 10-year-old National squad battled Los Banos and the heat on Saturday, but weren't able to pull it off, resulting in a 13-3 loss.

The Nationals started on a high note, scoring two runs in the first inning, but they weren't able to carry through the enthusiasm.

“The kids struggled on the defensive side and overall afterwards, as they could not get many things going because Los Banos defense was great after that inning,” Zimmer said. “It was brutal with the heat, and the field was stuck on a hill with little or no breeze and caused the kids to lose focus of the game and were working on keeping their cool in the dugout instead.”

Turlock American 10-year-olds

Despite a late game rally, the Turlock American All-Star 10-year-olds weren't able to overcome the Yosemite All-Stars and fell 8-7 in Atwater on Saturday.

“I think at first we started off slow and once kids got comfortable, they got their heads on straight and started playing baseball like they know how,” said Turlock American head coach Mike Cooke. “There were great players on the field. I was proud that they battled back late in the game.”

The first runs were scored in the first inning when Cole Pacheco’s RBI single cracked the game wide open in an inning that would eventually end 2-0.

Starting pitcher Cameron Ward lasted until the third until he reached the pitch limit with bases loaded and one out.

After scoring one run in the first, Yosemite would retaliate with five more in the third inning and extend the lead to 6-2. Carson Steeley followed with a big RBI double in the fourth inning to make it 6-3, and eventually another run was tacked on to make it 6-4. Yosemite would score their final two runs before the final inning and that would be enough to secure the victory.