Blue Jays, Mets win District 54 TOC titles

Wednesday was a good day for area little league teams. The Folsom American Minor Blue Jays and the El Dorado Hills Major Mets won District 54 TOC championships. At Feist Park in Granite Bay, the Blue Jays defeated the Cosumnes Phillies, 3-2, while the Mets defeated the Woodcreek Giants, 8-0, at Mahany Park in Roseville. The Blue Jays scored a run in the first inning when Alijah Stoneburner doubled and Nolan Fine followed up with a triple. They added another run to their lead in the second inning when Hampton Mackey tripled and scored when the Phillies missed the cutoff man. The Phillies tied the score with single runs in the fourth and fifth inning, but the Blue Jays managed to score a run in the bottom of the fifth when Aylin Bell-Costa singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Mackey, who came in to relieve Stoneburner in the fifth inning, struck out the side in the sixth to finish off the Phillies with the tying run on second base. "We found Hampton as a pitcher about halfway through the season," Blue Jays manager James Fine said. "He's just a tall, funky, left-hander and people have a hard time hitting him. We're very comfortable going to him because he pumps strikes and kids have a hard time seeing him. "This game was about pitching and defense and timely hitting. It was a nail-biter. "It's been a great season. The boys all pick each other up and they play for each other. It's a very proud coaching moment." The El Dorado Hills Mets were the dominant team of the Major tournament, as they won all four of their games by the mercy rule and outscored their opponents by 40 runs. After starting the season with a 2-2 record, the team won their final 20 games to finish 22-2. The Mets scored six runs in the first inning and were on their way behind ace pitcher George Bergamo, who threw all five innings and allowed four hits and struck out 11. Offensively, Bergamo and Matt Gabbard hit back-to-back doubles to the fence to score the team's first run. Fhalem Keegan then hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Three batters later, Harrison Davis doubled to knock in three more runs. Vincent Rendon drove in the Mets' last run of the first inning. Bergamo knocked in the run in the second inning and in the third, Gabbard tripled and then scored on Keegan's infield single. "The boys hit their stride and did a phenomenal job in this tournament," Mets' manager Sean Filippini said. "We have hitters up and down the lineup; we have pitching and we catch the ball. We're a complete team for this level. The boys were dominant."