The Benicia Oldtimers baseball team swept three games of “pool play” in the Dutch Van Wey Classic over the weekend and advanced to the Northern California semifinals.

Benicia, looking for its first NorCal title since 2010, beat San Leandro, 10-5, and Watsonville, 5-1, last Saturday, then rolled over Stanislaus, 8-1, at Fitzgerald Field on Sunday to join Tracy as the only teams to go undefeated in pool play.

“We got three great pitching performances and our offense and defense have been just phenomenal,” said Benicia manager Rick Killough.

Benicia will host Lodi this Saturday for a semifinal beginning at 3 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field. Tracy will take on Vallejo in the other semifinal at 7 p.m. The winners advance to this Sunday’s NorCal championship game at 11 a.m. at Fitzgerald Field.

“We’re playing really well and we’re giving ourselves opportunities to win games,” said Oldtimer Steve Walling. “We’re confident and playing well at the right time.”

Benicia (20-6), which has won eight straight games and 14 of its past 16, got off to a poor start last Saturday against San Leandro at Benicia High School. San Leandro scored five runs on four hits in the first inning but didn’t score again the rest of the game. The Oldtimers slowly fought back.

Darren Wheat and Bruce Zimmer each doubled to produce one run and Mark Mortensen’s two-out single scored Rich Reza to make it 5-2. Benicia went up 6-5 in the third inning as six hits – including a double by Kurt Mendonza – led to four runs. Benicia extended its lead to 9-5 in the fourth on hits from Reza, Brian Rowles, Carl Hancock and Lou Kosta.  Eric Wheat’s RBI single in the fifth ended the scoring.

“We didn’t panic,” Walling said. “We knew we had time because we can hit and score runs. We made a few blunders in the field early but we came back, played solid defense the rest of the way and pitched well.”

Fred Manuel pitched seven innings, allowing five runs on five hits with two strikeouts. He faced the minimum number of batters the rest of the game after that five-run first inning.

After the San Leandro win, the Oldtimers made a short drive to Fitzgerald Field to take on Watsonville. Benicia pitcher Ricky Silva turned in a magnificent performance, allowing five hits and one unearned run in seven innings.

“I’ve watched this for years and he doesn’t surprise me anymore,” Killough said of Benicia’s longtime ace.

Benicia jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning. Ernest Holquin singled to center, Hancock singled to left and Randy Dismuke lined a single to left, scoring Holquin. Wheat reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Hancock. Zimmer singled to center and scored on a Jarrod Sproul double, and Sproul later scored on a Reza single. Benicia added a run in the fourth on hits from Wheat and Sproul.

Sunday’s game against Stanisalus was all Benicia as Brandon Fade fired a one-hitter and faced only four over the minimum. Zimmer, Sproul and Mendonza drew walks in the first inning, and an infield single from Rowles scored Zimmer for an early lead. Benicia added four runs in the second after drawing six walks and a single from Sproul to make it 5-0.

Benicia added two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Sproul drew a walk, and Mendonza and Rowles were each hit by a pitch to load the bases. Reza then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Sproul, and an RBI single from Holqiun scored Mendonza.

Benicia plated its eighth run in the fifth on a hit from Walling and RBI single from Wheat.

“We’re stacked offensively from top to bottom,” Killough said. “It’s always helpful playing at home, but right now we’re just clicking. If we keep getting good pitching like we’re getting, we’ll be fine.”

The Oldtimers made it to last year’s NorCal championship game but blew a three-run lead in the final inning and lost to the Lodi Vintage Giants, 5-4.