Rocklin Major all-stars roll over Tri-City to win District 11 Tournament

Rocklin Little League's Major All-Stars won the District 11 championship Saturday night at McBean Park in Lincoln, defeating Tri-City 11-1 in the winner-take-all championship of the double-elimination tournament. The decisive game was forced after an 11-10 Tri-City victory Friday night. Tri-City scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to force extra innings and came from behind again in the eighth for a walk-off victory. Although Friday's loss was a heartbreaker, Rocklin Manager Josh Conklin said his team went into Saturday's game determined. "The boys were really confident coming into Friday and they came out and hit the ball really well. We really out-hit Tri-City, but they just had some timely hits," Conklin said. "We told them going into Saturday that we're flushing that game down the drain. That one's gone. Let it go. Saturday is a new game and it was all that mattered." Rocklin took that message to heart, scoring three runs in the first inning. Rocklin led 6-1 after four and slammed the door on Tri-City with a five-run fifth. Callan Seigal had two doubles and drove in four runs for Rocklin. Blake Lopiccolo had two RBIs, building off his strong performance Friday night, when he hit a home run. Jack Johnson pitched a two-hitter and struck out four for Rocklin, getting the job done in 76 pitches. "Our pitchers were down on themselves Friday after the game, but if you looked at him Saturday, he was ready to go. He had a bulldog mentality," Conklin said of Johnson. "He was dialed in." Conklin also praised Seigal, noting he shook off his pitching performance in Friday's loss and was a key factor in Saturday's win. Rocklin advances to the Section 4 Tournament at Mahany Park in Roseville, which it will begin Thursday night against District 5 champion Fair Oaks Orangevale. "We feel pretty confident in just knowing what we've just gone through as a team and being battle-tested is gonna get us ready to to take this next step," Conklin said. Rocklin begins the Section 4 Tournament on Thursday at 5 p.m.