The Dos Pueblos LL Junior All-Stars kicked off the District 63 tournament with a dominant 12-1 victory over Santa Paula LL on Saturday at Fillmore LL.
Santa Paula threatened in the first with a pair of baserunners, but Dos Pueblos LL catcher Jonah Pepper back-picked the runner on third base to get out of the inning and claim momentum.
It carried over to the bats, as Pepper drove in Kian Palmer on an RBI single and later scored on a wild pitch to give DPLL an early 2-0 lead.
The offense stayed hot and blew the game open with six runs in the bottom of the second, with the biggest blow being a two-run single off the bat of Charlie Douglas to score Gabe Estrella and Grady Felix. Palmer also executed a squeeze bunt to score a run.
Meanwhile, the pitching of Adan Macias and Isaac Guttierez stifled the Santa Paula bats all game long as the offense poured on the runs.
In the bottom of the fourth, the DPLL lead ballooned to 12-0 thanks in part to big hits by Douglas, Pepper and Seth Orozco.
Santa Paula picked up a run in the top of the fifth, but DPLL closed out the game shortly after to secure the mercy-rule win.
DPLL will now take on the winner of a matchup between Goleta Valley South LL and Ventura LL on Wednesday in Fillmore.
DPLL Junior All-Star players include Matt Brennan, Holden Brey, Max Cruse, Charlie Douglas, Gabe Estrella, Grady Felix, Ollie Gesswein, Isaac Guttierez, Adan Macias, Seth Orozco, Kian Palmer and Jonah Pepper.
The team is managed by Jacob Pepper with coaches Dan Brennan, Dave Robertson and Jeff Palmer.