STARTING PITCHER Jakob Boyle went three strong innings for Benicia, allowing only one hit and one unearned run while striking out six.

Benicia Little League’s 11/12 Majors all-star team got off to a great start at the District 53 Tournament, clobbering St. Helena, 13-3, in four innings on Friday at Community Park.

Benicia (1-0) batted around and scored five times in the bottom of the first inning, then batted around for eight more runs in the second to build a commanding 13-1 lead. That was plenty of run support for Benicia starting pitcher Jakob Boyle, who threw 63 pitches in three innings of work to get the victory.

“He pitched a great game,” Benicia manager Derek Trammell said of Boyle, who only one hit and two walks while striking out six. “The whole team played well.”

Trey Trias was unstoppable at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a run and four RBIs as Benicia ended things early due to the 10-run mercy rule. Teammate Gabriel Martinez went 2-for-3 with two runs and a RBI, and Ben Saitz, Dylan Trammell, Devin Mason and T.J. Valentine each scored a pair of runs.

Benicia’s first five batters in the opening inning all scored, with Trias delivering a two-run double while Mason and Boyle each had RBI singles. Four walks, a hit batter and base hits by Martinez and Trias led to the eighth-run second inning.

“You could tell at the start of the game that we had some nervous jitters, but we worked through it and got some hits.”

St. Helena scored a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning to make it 13-3 but couldn’t extend the game as Benicia reliever Jacob French struck out the final hitter to end things early.

“It looked like we were going to blow them away, but we had to battle through some things and got through it and got the W,” Trammell said.

French and Dominic Romano also had hits for Benicia. Nui Fifita and Jake Matteson each scored a run.

Benicia advanced to take on Vallejo National in Saturday’s winner’s bracket. Vallejo National held on to beat Fairfield Atlantic in the first round, 15-12.

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